Lee Jarvis, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-8) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes
Medium
Albumen photograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 11/16 × 1 3/8 in. (6.8 × 3.5 cm)
Classification
Photographs|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
63.350.208.145.8.391
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world of 1890s theater with this petite albumen photograph of actress Jarvis, part of the Actors and Actresses series (145-8). Issued 1891 by W. Duke, Sons & Co.—soon to become the American Tobacco Company—this tiny portrait (just 2 11/16 × 1 3/8 inches) was a clever marketing tool tucked into Duke Cigarette packs to entice collectors and boost sales. Actresses like Jarvis embodied the era's fascination with stage stars, their images blending celebrity allure with everyday commerce. Albumen prints, made by coating paper with egg whites and silver salts, were the gold ...
About the Artist
W. Duke, Sons & Co.|American Tobacco 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...