Feast of Guadalupe, Mexico, from the Holidays series (N80) for Duke brand cigarettes

Art Historical Context

In the late 19th century, American tobacco companies like W., Sons & Co. marketing by inserting colorful collectible cards into cigarette packs, sparking a collecting craze among adults and children alike. This petite commercial color lithograph,Feast of Guadalupe,*, from the Holidays series (N80), dates to 1890 was produced in collaboration with Philadelphia printer George S. Harris &. Measuring just 2¾ x 1½ inches, it likely served as a insert, capturing the vibrant of Mexico's Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe—a major Catholic holiday on December 12th honoring the Virgin Mary's apparition to Juan Diego in 1531. Chromolithography, the medium here, allowed for vivid, multi-layered colors through successive stone printing, making these ephemera affordable yet visually striking. The card's focus on women, possibly in traditional attire amid festive celebrations, highlights cultural traditions and global diversity, reflecting America's growing fascination with international customs during the Gilded Age. Part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, it exemplifies how everyday commerce produced accessible art that preserved slices of world history. Today, such cards offer a window into Victorian-era advertising ingenuity and cross-cultural exchange, reminding us how a simple cigarette insert could bridge continents.

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...