Klipp Fish, from the series Fishers and Fish (N74) for Duke brand cigarettes
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/4 × 1 7/16 in. (7 × 3.6 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
63.350.204.74.38
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Klipp Fish*, a charming commercial color lithograph from the 1888 series *Fishers and Fish (N)*, produced by W. Duke Sons & Co. and by Knapp & Company. tiny card, measuring just 2¾ × 1⅜ inches, was designed as collectible ephemera inserted into Duke brand cigarette packs, sparking a craze for trading cards among smokers and enthusiasts alike. The tags—women, fishing, fish—hint at a playful scene likely featuring a fisherwoman or a striking depiction of the titular "Klipp Fish," evoking the era's fascination with angling as both spor...
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...