King of Diamonds (red), from the Playing Cards series (N84) 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
63.350.204.84.14
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *King of Diamonds (red)*, a gem from W. Duke, Sons & Co.'s Playing Cards series (N84), produced in 1888. This tiny commercial color lithograph, measuring just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches, was designed as a collectible insert for Duke brand cigarette packs. At the height of the tobacco industry's boom, companies like Duke revolutionized marketing by including these eye-catching cards, sparking a collecting craze among smokers and children alike. The King of Diamonds, rendered in bold reds, embodies the playful allure of standard playing card...
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...