Humbert I, King of Italy, 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
63.350.206.126.25
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with this petite commercial color lithograph,Humbert I, King of Italy*, from theRulers, Flags, Coats of Arms* series (N126-1), issued by W. Duke Sons & Co. in 1888. Measuring just 2½ × 4⅜ inches, this tiny treasure portrays Umberto I, who reigned as King of Italy from 1878 to 1900 during a pivotal era of national unification and European monarchy. Flanked by Italian flags and a heraldic coat of arms, it captures the grandeur of royal portraiture in a format designed for everyday delight. Produced via chromolithography—a revolutionary pri...
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...