General Winfield Scott, from the series Great Americans (N76) for Duke brand cigarettes
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (7 × 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
63.350.204.76.40
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American advertising with this petite chromolithograph of *General Winfield Scott*, part of the "Great Americans (N76)" series produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. in 1888. Measuring just 2¾ × 1½ inches, this card honors the storied military hero of the War of 1812 and Mexican-American War, who later ran for president in 1852. Rendered in bold commercial color lithography—a technique perfected for mass production—the image captures Scott's dignified portrait against a simple backdrop, evoking national pride during the Gilded Age. Issued as inserts in Duk...
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...