M. L. Barillas, President of Guatemala, from the Rulers, Flags, and Coats of Arms series (N126-1) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 1/2 × 4 5/16 in. (6.4 × 11 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
63.350.206.126.20
Tags
Art Historical Context
This vibrant commercial color lithograph from 1888 captures Manuel Lisandro Barillas, President of Guatemala from 1885 to 1892, as part of the "Rulers, Flags, and Coats of Arms" series (N126-1) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co., a leading American tobacco manufacturer. Measuring just 2½ × 4⅜ inches, these pocket-sized cards were tucked into cigarette packs as promotional inserts, enticing collectors—often children and adults alike—with glimpses of global leaders, their national flags, and heraldic symbols. Barillas, depicted in formal portrait style amid Guatemala's coat of arms and flag, embodies...
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...