Governor Beaver, Pennsylvania, from "Governors, Arms, Etc." series (N133-1), issued by Duke Sons & Co.
ca. 1888
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 9/16 × 4 5/16 in. (6.5 × 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
63.350.207.133.35
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American ephemera with *Governor Beaver, Pennsylvania*, charming commercial color lithograph from the "Govern, Arms, Etc." (N133-1), issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. around1888. This petite card (just 2 9/16 × 4 5/16 inches) features a portrait of James A. Beaver, Pennsylvania's governor from 1887 to 1891, alongside the state's coat of arms, landscapes, and musical instrumentselements that blend patriotism, heraldry, and cultural motifs to celebrate regional pride. Produced by the Duke tobacco company, these cards were tucked into cigarette packs as co...
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...