Ground Hog, from the Jokes series (N87) for Duke brand cigarettes

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 1890s advertising with *Ground Hog, from theokes series (N87, a diminutive yet delightful commercial color lithograph produced W. Duke, Sons & Co. in collaboration with George S. & Sons. Measuring just 2¾ × 1½ inches, this card was designed as an insert for Duke brand cigarettes, part of a popular series featuring humorous vignettes. The tags—Food, Men, Dining— at a lighthearted joke likely centered on a groundhog in a culinary context, capturing the playful spirit of tobacco trade cards that turned everyday packs into collectibles. Chromolithography, the medium here, was a breakthrough technique in the late 19th century, allowing mass production of vivid, multi-colored images from stone plates. Duke, a pioneering American tobacco firm, used these cards to build brand loyalty, sparking a collecting craze among adults and children alike. This exemplifies the era's fusion of commerce and popular culture, where ephemera like these prints documented social humor and consumer trends. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department as part of the Jefferson R. Burdick Collection—a monumental gift of over 30,000 cards—this piece highlights how everyday objects preserved slices of American life, blending wit, food imagery, and marketing ingenuity.

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...