Card Number 322, Empire Group, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-7) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke 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
63.350.208.145.7.70
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Card Number 322, Group*, from the *Actors and Actresses* (N145-7), produced by W. Duke, & Co. in the 1880s. This albumen photograph—measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 3/8 inches—features a poised portrait of a female actress, capturing the allure of theater stars who captivated audiences during the Gilded Age. Issued inside Duke Cigarette packs, these cards were savvy marketing tools, encouraging collectors to buy more packs to complete sets and turning smokers into enthusiasts of popular culture. Albumen prints, made by coating paper with...
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...