[Actress posing on chair], from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes

Art Historical Context

Step into the lively world of late 19-century American advertising with *[Actress posing on chair*, a charming albumen photograph from the and Actresses series (145-8). Issued 1891 by W. Duke, Sons & Co., later the American Tobacco Company, this tiny card—measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 3/8 inches—was designed to promote Duke Cigarettes. Tobacco companies often distributed these collectible "trade cards" in cigarette packs, capitalizing on the era's fascination with theater stars to entice consumers, much like modern trading cards. The medium, albumen printing, was the gold standard for photograph...

About the Artist

W. Duke, Sons & Co.|American Tobacco 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...