Miss Rosita, 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
63.350.208.145.8.227
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world of late 19-century American theater with *Miss Rosita*, a portrait from the Actors and Actresses series (145-8). Issued 1891 by W. Duke, Sons & Co.—soon to become the powerhouse American Tobacco Company—this tiny albumen photograph served as a clever promotional insert for Duke Cigarettes. At just 2 11/16 × 1 3/8 inches, these ephemera cards were tucked into cigarette packs, enticing collectors and smokers alike with images of popular actresses, blending celebrity allure with tobacco marketing. The albumen print medium, popular from the 1850s to 1890s, captures ...
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...