A Short History of General Joe Hooker, from the Histories of Generals series (N114) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Smoking and Chewing Tobacco
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 3/16 × 2 1/2 in. (10.7 × 6.4 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ephemera
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, Gift of Jefferson R. Burdick
Accession Number
63.350.206.114.168
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American advertising with *A Short History of General Joe Hooker*, a gem from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection. Produced in 1888 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. and printed by Knapp & Company, this petite commercial color lithograph (just 4 3/16 × 2 1/2 inches) belongs to the *Histories of Generals* series (N114). Tucked into packages of Honest Long Cut Smoking and Chewing Tobacco, it served as a collectible trading card, blending education with promotion during the post-Civil War era. The card features a profile portrait of U...
About the Artist
W. Duke, Sons & Co.|Knapp & Company · 1870–1920
**W. Duke, Sons & Co.: Pioneers of Chromolithographic Trade Card Art** W. Duke, Sons & Co., an American tobacco manufacturer, emerged from the entrepreneurial vision of Washington Duke (1820–1905) and his sons in Durham, North Carolina. After the Civil War, Washington abandoned farming in 1874 to join his eldest son, Brodie L. Duke, in the burgeoning tobacco trade, establishing a factory that for...