Mlle. D'Alencan, 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
63.350.208.145.8.368
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world of 1890s theater with *Mlle. D'Alencan, from the Actors and Act series (N145-8)*, a tiny albumen photograph issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote their Duke Cigarettes. Around 1891, tobacco companies popularized collectible trading cards like these—affixed inside cigarette packs—to captivate smokers and build brand loyalty. This portrait captures the poised elegance of French actress Mlle. D'Alencan, one of many stage stars featured, reflecting the era's fascination with performers as cultural icons. Printed on a modest sheet measuring just 2 11/16 × 1 3/8 in...
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...