John G. Carlisle of Kentucky, from the Presidential Possibilities series (N124) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 1/8 × 2 1/2 in. (10.4 × 6.4 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
63.350.206.124.21
Tags
Art Historical Context
This 1888 commercial color lithograph features John G. Carlisle, prominent Kentucky congressman and Speaker of the House, as part of Duke Sons & Co.’s “Presidential Poss” trading-card series. Issued to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco the card belongs to a set of small, affordable prints (N124) that capitalized on the excitement surrounding the 1888 presidential race. Carlisle, known for his tariff-reform views, was briefly considered a Democratic contender before the nomination went to Grover Cleveland. Printed on a sheet measuring just 4 1/8 by 2½ inches, the work exemplifies the era’s innov...
About the Artist
W. Duke, Sons & Co.|The Giles 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...