Virginia, from the Industries of States series (N117) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 3/16 × 2 1/2 in. (10.6 × 6.3 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
63.350.206.117.12
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American advertising with *Virginia*, a charming chromolithograph from theIndustries of States* (N117), produced in 1889 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote their Honest Long Cut Tobacco. petite card, measuring just 4 3/16 × 2 1/2 inches, personifies the state of Virginia—renowned for its tobacco heritage—through an allegorical female figure, evocatively rendered with shields and classical nudity. Such imagery blended patriotism, industry pride, and allure to captivate collectors and consumers alike. Chromolithography, the era's breakthrough in afford...
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...