Mlle. Jaco, 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
63.350.208.145.8.151
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the glittering world 1890s theater with *Mlle. Jaco*, a captivating portrait from the Actors and Actresses series (145-8), issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to their Duke Cigarettes. Produced around 1891, this tiny albumen photograph—measuring just 2 /16 × 1 3/8 inches—was one of many collectible cards tucked into cigarette packs, transforming everyday smoking into a hobby for enthusiasts. Mlle. Jaco, a poised actress, embodies the era's fascination with stage stars, her image a window into the burgeoning celebrity culture of vaudeville and burlesque. Albumen prints, 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...