Two Diamonds (red), 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
63.350.204.84.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of19th-century advertising withTwo Diamonds (red)*, a charming commercial color lithograph from W. Duke, Sons & Co.'s Playing Cards series (N84), produced in 1888. This tiny card, measuring just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches, mimics the suit of diamonds from a standard deck, rendered in bold reds to entice collectors. Duke, a leading American tobacco firm, pioneered the insertion of these collectible trade cards into cigarette packs, transforming everyday smokes into treasure hunts and boosting sales during the Gilded Age. The artwork showcases the precision of chromolithog...
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...