Card Number 42, Minnie Dupree, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-2) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes

Art Historical Context

In the late 1880s, American tobacco companies like W. Duke, Sons & Co. revolutionized advertising with collectible cigarette cards, tiny treasures inserted into packs of Cross Cut Cigarettes. This *Card Number 42, Dupree*, from the Actors and Actresses seriesN145-2), the era's fascination with theater stars. Featuring portrait actress Minnie Dupree, it exemplifies how ephemera bridged commerce and culture, enticing smokers—especially young collectors—with glamorous images of performers. Printed as a miniature albumen photograph (2 5/8 × 1 7/16 in.), the card showcases the medium's hallmark wa...

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...