Six Clubs (black), from the Playing Cards series (N84) for Duke brand cigarettes
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. (7 x 3.8 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
63.350.204.84.33
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the late 19th century, American tobacco companies like W. Duke Sons & Co. revolutionized by inserting colorful collectible cards into cigarette packs, sparking a national craze among enthusiasts, especially children. This petite chromolithograph, *Six Clubs (black)* from the Playing Cards series (N84 dates to 1888 and exemplifies Duke's innovative marketing for their popular brand. Measuring just 2¾ × 1½ inches, it was designed as an affordable, eye-catching insert, transforming everyday smoking into a gateway for collecting. Produced via commercial color lithography—a cutting-edge techniq...
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...