The Drama is Making Long Strides, from the Jokes series (N87) for Duke brand cigarettes
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (7 × 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
63.350.204.81.3
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 1890s American advertising with *The Drama is Making Longides*, a charming chromolithograph from the Jokes series (N87) produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. in collaboration with George S. Harris & Sons This tiny gem, measuring just 2¾ × 1½ inches, was tucked into Duke brand cigarette packs as a promotional insert, delighting smokers and collectors alike with its witty humor and bold colors. Part of a popular trend in tobacco ephemera, these cards turned everyday smokes into a treasure hunt, foreshadowing modern trading cards. Chromolithography, the medium here, was ...
About the Artist
W. Duke, Sons & Co.|George S. Harris & Sons · 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...