Card Number 208, Lizzie Harrold, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-2) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Card Number 208, Harrold*, a gem from W. Duke, Sons & Co.'s Actors and Actresses series (145-2), issued in the 1880s to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes. diminutive albumen photographs—measuring just 2 5/8 × 1 7/16 inches—were tucked into cigarette packs as collectible incentives, sparking a craze among enthusiasts. Duke's cards captured the era's fascination with theater stars, turning everyday smokers into avid album-builders. Rendered in the sharp, luminous tones of albumen printing—a pioneering 19th-century process using egg-white-...

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...