Card Number 628, Hattie Robins, 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
63.350.208.145.7.239
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Card Number 628,attie Robins*, a petite albumen photograph from the and Actresses series (145-7), issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. in 1880s. This tiny treasure, measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 3/8 inches, captures the poised portrait of actress Hattie Robins, one many celebrities featured to entice smokers and collectors alike. Tucked into Duke Cigarette packs, these cards turned everyday tobacco purchases into a thrilling hunt for star-studded souvenirs. Produced during the golden age of cigarette trading cards, this ephemera reflects inn...
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...