George I, King of Greece, 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
63.350.206.126.19
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century ephemera with this charming commercial color lithograph from 1888, featuring *George I, King of*, part of the *Rulers, Flags, Coats of Arms* (N126-1) issued by W. Duke Sons & Co. Measuring just 2½ × 4⅜ inches, this pocket-sized print captures the monarch in regal portraiture, likely surrounded by symbolic flags and coats of arms that evoke national pride. Produced by the prominent American tobacco firm, it served as a collectible insert in cigarette packages, blending education with marketing in an era when such trade cards fueled a collecting craze....
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...