Horace Greeley, 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
63.350.204.76.19
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American advertising with this petite commercial color lithograph featuring Horace Greeley, part of the "Great Americans (N76)" produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. in 1888. Greeley, the influential newspaper editor and presidential candidate famously known for urging "Go West, young," is portrayed in a dignified portrait style, capturing his stature as a key figure in journalism and politics during the Civil War era and westward expansion. These tiny cards, measuring just 2¾ × 1½ inches, were innovative inserts in Duke cigarette packs, designed to boost...
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...