Caricatured Algerian, Zudi-Budshu, from the series Coins of All Nations (N72, variation 2) for Duke brand cigarettes
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. (7 x 3.8 cm)
Classification
Prints|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
63.350.204.72.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming yet revealing chromolithograph, *Caricatured Algerian,udi-Budshu*, is a tiny gem from W. Duke, Sons & Co.'s 1889 "Coins of Nations" series (N72, variation 2). Produced as a collectible insert for Duke brand cigarettes, it measures just 2¾ x 1½ inches, designed to entice smokers—especially children and teens—to buy more packs for the full set. The card depicts a stylized Algerian man alongside a coin, blending numismatics with exotic caricature in a nod to global currencies. Chromolithography, the medium here, was a cutting-edge 19th-century technique using multiple lithographic ...
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...