Eight Hearts, from the Playing Cards series (N84) to promote Turkish Cross-Cut Cigarettes for W. Duke, Sons and Co.

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American advertising with *Eight Hearts* from the Playing Cards series (N84), a charming commercial color lithograph produced in 1888 by W. Duke, Sons & Co a leading tobacco firm. This tiny card (just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches) was designed as an insert for packs of Turkish Cross-Cut Cigarettes, mimicking a suit of playing cards to entice collectors and boost sales. During the Gilded Age, cigarette manufacturers like the Dukes—pioneers in mass-produced branded smokes—sparked a collecting craze with these ephemera, turning everyday purchases into treasure hunts. The artwork showcases the brilliance of chromolithography, a revolutionary color printing technique that allowed for vivid reds and intricate details on a miniature scale. Mass-produced yet artistically refined, these cards blended whimsy with commerce, reflecting the era's explosive growth in consumer culture and lithography's role in democratizing colorful imagery. As part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, it preserves a slice of tobacco history and the playful intersection of gaming icons and marketing ingenuity. Fun fact: Duke's innovative card series helped their company dominate the market, paving the way for modern promotional collectibles—proving even a simple heart could deal a winning hand!

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...