Caricatured Japanese figure, 2 Yen, from the series Coins of All Nations (N72, variation 1) 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
63.350.204.72.54
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th advertising with this charming *Caricatured Japanese figure 2 Yen*, a tiny gem from W. Duke, Sons & Co.'s *Coins of All Nations* (N72, variation1), produced in 1889. Issued as inserts in Duke brand cigarette packs, these cards—measuring just 2¾ x 1½ inches—were designed to stiffen packages and spark a collecting craze among smokers. This commercial color lithograph playfully depicts a stylized Japanese figure embodying the 2 Yen coin, capturing the era's fascination with global currencies and exotic cultures during Japan's Meiji period opening to the West. ...
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...