Annie Robe, 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
63.350.207.145.1.141
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 1880s advertising with *Annie Robe, from Actors and Actresses seriesN145-1)*, a petite albumen photograph issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote their Cut Cigarettes. This portrait captures the poised elegance of actress Annie Robe one of many celebrated performers featured in the series. Measuring just 2½ × 1⅜ inches, it was designed as an insert for cigarette packs, transforming everyday tobacco purchases into a collector's delight and fueling the era's burgeoning celebrity culture. Produced using the albumen printing process—where egg whites coated paper se...
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...