Card Number 84, Agnes Miller, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-2) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes
1880s
Medium
Albumen photograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 5/8 × 1 7/16 in. (6.6 × 3.7 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
63.350.207.145.2.246
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century celebrity culture with *Card Number 84, Miller*, a charming albumen photograph from the Actors and Actresses series (145-2). Issued the 1880s by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote their Cross Cut Cigarettes, this collectible—measuring just 2 5/8 × 1 7/16 inches—was tucked into cigarette packs to entice smokers and spark collecting fervor. Featuring portrait of actress Agnes Miller, captures the allure of theater stars who dominated popular entertainment, blending advertising savvy with fan appeal. Albumen prints, the medium here, were a hallmark of Vict...
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...