Kentucky, from the Industries of States series (N117) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco

Art Historical Context

This vibrant chromolithograph, titled *Kentucky* from the *Industries States* series (N), was produced in 1889 by W. Duke, Sons & Co., a American tobacco firm, to promote their Honest Long Cut Tobacco. Measuring just 4 3/16 × 2 1/2 inches, it belongs to the era's popular trade cards—small, collectible inserts often tucked into cigarette packages. The imagery likely features allegorical women with shields, symbolizing Kentucky pride in industries like tobacco farming, horse breeding, and bourbon distillation, evoking state identity during the Gilded Age's industrial boom. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized commercial printing by allowing vivid, multi-color reproductions at scale, making art accessible to everyday consumers. Duke's series celebrated American regional economies, blending patriotism with savvy marketing; the company, led by James Buchanan Duke, would soon dominate the industry through innovative advertising. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection—a treasure trove of ephemera—this card offers a window into 19th-century consumer culture, where tobacco ads doubled as folk art, capturing the era's optimism and gendered iconography. A delightful glimpse of history in your pocket!

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...