Franz Joseph I, Austria, from the Rulers, Flags, and Coats of Arms series (N126-1) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 1/2 × 4 5/16 in. (6.4 × 11 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
63.350.206.126.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
This vibrant chromolithograph from 1888 captures Franz Joseph I, the long-reigning Emperor of Austria (8–1916), as part of the "Rulers, Flags, Coats of Arms" (N126-1) issued by W. Duke Sons & Co., a American tobacco company. Measuring just 2½ × 4⅜ inches, this pocket-sized print was designed as collectible ephemera, tucked into cigarette packs to entice smokers—especially children and enthusiasts—to build sets. The series celebrated global leaders, national symbols, and heraldry, blending education with marketing in an era when trading cards were a cultural phenomenon. Produced via commercial...
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...