Queen of Norway and Sweden, from the Rulers, Flags, and Coats of Arms series (N126-2) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/4 × 4 1/4 in. (7 × 10.8 cm) Sheet (folded): 2 3/4 × 1 7/16 in. (7 × 3.6 cm)
Classification
Prints|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
63.350.206.126.80
Tags
Art Historical Context
This vibrant commercial color lithograph, titled *Queen of Norway and Sweden from W. Duke, Sons &.'s *Rulers, Flags, and Co of Arms* series (126-2), captures regal allure of European monarchy in 1888. by the American tobacco giant W. Duke, Sons & Co., it belongs to a popular set of collectible cards inserted into cigarette packages, blending portraiture with national symbols like flags and coats of arms. These petite prints—measuring just 2¾ × 4¼ inches (7 × 10.8 cm), and even foldable to half that size—invited everyday Americans to amass a global gallery of rulers, fostering a fascination wit...
About the Artist
W. Duke, Sons & Co. · 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...