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Condition: See photos. Complete with both covers and the original string binding intact. Foxing and toning throughout, a crease through the lower right of the front cover, minor corner loss to the rear board. Interior chromolithographs present bright.
The A21 Napoleon Album, published by Allen & Ginter of Richmond, Virginia, and printed by Lindner, Eddy & Clauss of New York. Duke University, which holds the source collection of Allen & Ginter advertising material, catalogs the A21 to 1888–1892.
Unlike most Allen & Ginter premium albums, the A21 was not issued alongside a card set. It stands alone: a brief biography of Napoleon followed by ten pages of full-color chromolithographs tracing his life, from the snowball fight at Brienne in 1783 through the Empire. The rear cover carries the crossed tricolors and the A&G monogram; an interior page advertises the full Allen & Ginter line, including Richmond Gem, Old Rip, Dixie, Louisiana Perique, and The Pet Cigarette.
These albums were not sold. They were obtained only by mailing in coupons packed with Allen & Ginter tobacco — typically 75 to 100 of them — which is why comparatively few survive, and fewer still with the original cord intact.
