McKee Rankin in Bridegroom's Costume of Saille, France, from the set Actors and Actresses, First Series (N70) 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
63.350.204.70.44
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of19th-century theater and advertising with this charming commercial color lithograph, *McKee Rankin in Bride's Costume of Saille France*, from the *Actors and Actresses, Series (N70)* by W. Duke, Sons & Co. and printed by Knapp & Company around 1888–89. At just 2¾ × 1½ inches, this tiny card captures the dashing actor McKee Rankin in elaborate French bridal costume, highlighting his star power during the Gilded Age when live performance was America's premier entertainment. Produced as promotional inserts for Duke brand cigarettes, these ephemera cards were part of...
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...