Ulysses S. Grant, from the series Great Americans (N76) 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
63.350.204.76.18
Tags
Art Historical Context
This petite chromolithograph, *Ulysses S. Grant, from the series Great Americans (N76)*, produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. in 1888, captures the stern visage of the Civil War hero and 18th U.S.. Measuring just 2¾ × 1½ inches, it was designed as an insert for Duke brand cigarette packs, part of a booming late-19th-century trend where tobacco companies bundled collectible cards to boost sales and foster loyalty among smokers. Chromolithography, the medium here, allowed for vibrant, mass-produced color printing at low cost, making these "trade cards" accessible ephemera that celebrated American ic...
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...