Card Number 751, Margaret Mather, 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
63.350.208.145.7.121
Tags
Art Historical Context
This petite albumen photograph, *Card Number 751, Mather*, from Duke Sons & Co.'s and Actresses series (145-7), captures the allure of 1880s theater culture in a format designed for everyday delight. Issued to promote Duke Cigarettes, tiny trade cards—measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 3/8 inches—were tucked into cigarette packs, sparking a collecting craze among children and adults alike. Featuring the celebrated actress Margaret Mather, known for her dramatic roles, the card exemplifies how commercial ephemera blurred the lines between advertising and popular entertainment. Printed via the albumen ...
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...