Emma Leslie in Colors of Brooklyn Yacht Club, from the Yacht Colors of the World series (N140) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 in. × 2 1/2 in. (10.1 × 6.3 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
63.350.207.140.18
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 1890s advertising with *Emma Leslie in Colors of Yacht Club*, a gem from the *Yacht of the World* seriesN140). Produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co.—pioneers in the American tobacco industry—this petite commercial color lithograph (just 4 × 2½ inches) was tucked into packs of Honest Long Cut Tobacco as a collectible incentive. Yachting was a glamorous pastime for the elite, and these cards captured the flags and racing colors of prestigious clubs worldwide, blending sport, patriotism, and luxury to entice smokers. Chromolithography, the era's breakthrough for affordab...
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...