Card Number 2, Louise Montague, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-4) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cameo Cigarettes
1880s
Medium
Albumen photograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 11/16 × 1 3/8 in. (6.8 × 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
63.350.208.145.4.90
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the bustling world of1880s America, tobacco companies like W. Duke, Sons & Co. revolutionized marketing with collectible trading cards tucked into cigarette packs. This albumen photograph, *Card Number 2, Montague* from the Actors and Actresses series (145-4), promoted Cameo Cigarettes. Measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 3/8 inches, it's a snapshot of celebrity culture, featuring the poised portrait of actress Louise Montague—part of a popular series that celebrated stage stars and fueled a collecting craze among smokers and enthusiasts alike. Albumen prints, the medium here, were the gold standar...
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...