Helen Standish Dressed as Japanese Lady, from the set Actors and Actresses, Second Series (N71) for Duke brand cigarettes
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. (7 x 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
63.350.204.71.14
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of late 19th-century advertising with *Helen Standish Dressed Japanese Lady*, a charming commercial color lithograph from *Actors and Actresses, Series (N71)* by W. Duke, & Co. around 1888–90. Produced by Knapp & Company, this tiny—measuring just 2¾ × 1½ inches—was tucked into Duke brand cigarette packs as a collectible incentive, sparking a craze for trading these ephemera among enthusiasts. Helen Standish, a popular actress of the era, poses in elaborate Japanese-inspired attire, capturing the West's fascination with Japonisme—a cultural wave fueled by Japan's ope...
About the Artist
W. Duke, Sons & Co.|Knapp & Company · 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...