Anderson, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-1) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes
1880s
Medium
Albumen photograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 1/2 × 1 3/8 in. (6.4 × 3.5 cm)
Classification
Photographs|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
63.350.207.145.1.51
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Anderson, from the Actors and Act series (N145-1)*, a petite albumen photograph issued by. Duke, Sons & Co. in the 1880s to promote their Cross Cut Cigarettes. This tiny card—measuring just 2½ × 1⅜ inches—was one of many collectibles tucked into cigarette packs, enticing smokers and enthusiasts alike to amass series featuring celebrated actresses. Part of the Jefferson R.ick Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, it exemplifies ephemera: everyday items that captured fleeting cultural moments. Produced via the albumen process...
About the Artist
W. Duke, Sons & Co. · 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...