Miss A. Boyd, 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
63.350.208.145.8.43
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, American tobacco companies like W. Duke, Sons & Co. revolutionized marketing by inserting collectible cards into cigarette packs. This petite albumen photograph, *Miss A. Boyd* the Actors and Actresses series (145-8), circa 1891, exemplifies that trend. Measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 3/8 inches, it captures the poised portrait of actress Miss A Boyd, one of many celebrities featured to entice smokers—particularly men—with glamorous theater stars, turning everyday purchases into a hobby. Albumen prints, the dominant photographic medium of the era, were made by coating pap...
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...