Marriage of Venice to the Sea, Italy, from the Holidays series (N80) 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
63.350.204.80.27
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th advertising with *Marriage of Venice to the Sea, Italy*, a gem from the Holidays series (N80) by W. Duke, Sons & Co. in 1890. This petite commercial color lithograph, measuring just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches, was tucked into Duke brand cigarette packs as a collectible trade card. These ephemera captivated smokers and families alike, sparking a collecting craze that boosted tobacco sales during America's Gilded Age. The artwork celebrates Venice's iconic *Sposalizio del Mare* (Marriage to the Sea), a centuries-old ritual where the city's leader tossed a ring into...
About the Artist
W. Duke, Sons & Co.|George S. Harris & Sons · 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...