Mena, 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
63.350.208.145.8.397
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 1890s Americana with *Mena, from the and Actresses series (145-8)*, a petite albumen photograph issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to their Duke Cigarettes. Measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 3/8 inches, this tiny portrait captures the allure of actress "Mena one of many glamorous performers featured in the series. Produced around 1891, it exemplifies the era's cigarette cards—ephemeral collectibles tucked into tobacco packs to entice smokers and spark collecting frenzies. Albumen prints, made by coating paper with egg whites and silver salts, delivered the sharp, detailed i...
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...