Governor Larrabee, Iowa, 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
63.350.207.133.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th American ephemera with *Governor Larrabee, Iowa*, from the "Governors, Arms Etc." series (N-1), produced around 1888 by W. Duke, Sons & Co This petite commercial color lithograph, just 2 9/16 × 4 5/16 inches, captures a profile portrait of Iowa's governor alongside state symbols like coats of arms and flags. Issued as part of a popular tobacco premium series, these cards were tucked into cigarette packs to entice collectors, blending patriotism with everyday commerce. Chromolithography, the era's cutting-edge technique for vivid, multi-color printing from s...
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...