Julius Barre, from the Sea Captains series (N127) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century American advertising with *Julius Barre* from the Sea Captains series (N), a petite commercial color lithograph produced in 1887 by W. Duke, Sons & Co in collaboration with George S Harris & Sons. Issued to promote Long Cut Tobacco, this card—measuring just 4 3/16 × 2 7/16 inches—was part of a popular collectible series featuring portraits of notable sea captains. Likely distributed inside tobacco packages, these ephemera items captivated collectors with their bold imagery of men and flags, evoking the era's fascination with maritime heroism. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized commercial printing by allowing vivid, multi-color reproductions at low cost, making high-quality art accessible to the masses. This technique brought Julius Barre to life in striking detail, blending portraiture with patriotic symbols to appeal to Gilded Age consumers. As classified in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, it exemplifies how tobacco companies like Duke pioneered branded collectibles, foreshadowing modern trading cards. Today, preserved in The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection (a gift to the Met), this card offers a window into advertising's cultural power and America's seafaring legacy—reminding us how everyday promotions captured the spirit of adventure.

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...