Josie Baker as "The Terrapin," from the series Fancy Dress Ball Costumes (N73) 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
63.350.204.73.27
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 1880s advertising with this charming commercial color lithograph,Josie Baker as " Terrapin,"* from the *Fancy Dress Ball Cost (N73)* series produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. and by Knapp & Company. just 2¾ x 1½ inches, this tiny card captures actress Josie Baker in a whimsical turtle costume, complete with a domed shell and playful fins, evoking the theatrical flair of Gilded Age fancy dress balls. These events were all the rage among high society, blending fantasy, celebrity, and elaborate disguises. As part of Duke's promotional inserts for their popular cigaret...
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...