Eight Hearts, from the Playing Cards series (N84) to promote Turkish Cross-Cut Cigarettes for W. Duke, Sons and Co.

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American advertising with *Eight Hearts* from the Playing Cards series (N84), a charming commercial color lithograph produced in 1888 by W. Duke, Sons & Co a leading tobacco firm. This tiny card (just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches) was designed as an insert for packs of Turkish Cross-Cut Cigarettes, mimicking a suit of playing cards to entice collectors and boost sales. During the Gilded Age, cigarette manufacturers like the Dukes—pioneers in mass-produced branded smokes—sparked a collecting craze with these ephemera, turning everyday purchases into treasure ...

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...