Card Number 166, Lily Dupree, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-2) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes
1880s
Medium
Albumen photograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 5/8 × 1 7/16 in. (6.6 × 3.7 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
63.350.207.145.2.83
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Card Number 166, Lily Dupree*, from the Actors and Actresses series (145-2), issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. in 1880s to their Cross Cut Cigarettes. These diminutive albumen photographs—measuring just 2 5/8 × 1 7/16 inches—were tucked into cigarette packs as collectible inserts, sparking a craze among enthusiasts. Duke, a pioneering tobacco firm, leveraged celebrity portraits to boost sales and brand loyalty, turning everyday smokers into avid collectors of stars like actress Lily Dupree. Captured in the sharp, rich tones of albumen ...
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...