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

Art Historical Context

This petite chromolithograph, titled *Louisiana* from the *Industries States* series (N), was produced in 1889 by W. Duke, Sons & Co., a leading American tobacco manufacturer. Issued as a promotional trade card for "Honest Long Cut Tobacco," it the Gilded Age's vibrant advertising culture. These small cards (just 4 3/16 × 2 1/2 inches) were distributed in cigarette packs, encouraging collectors to amass full sets celebrating each state's industries. The imagery likely features symbolic women with shields, evoking allegorical pride in Louisiana's economic vitality—perhaps nodding to its sugarcane, cotton, or emerging oil sectors. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized commercial printing by allowing vivid, multi-color reproduction on a mass scale. Duke's cards, with their bold hues and intricate details, turned everyday ephemera into coveted keepsakes, blending artistry with marketing savvy. This technique democratized colorful visuals, making high-impact graphics accessible beyond fine art. Preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection—a treasure trove of 19th- and 20th-century printed ephemera—this card offers a window into late-19th-century consumer culture and regional boosterism. It reminds us how tobacco giants like Duke shaped American visual traditions, paving the way for modern branding.

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...