Mandolin, from the Musical Instruments series (N82) for Duke brand cigarettes

Art Historical Context

This charming 1888 color lithograph belongs to the “Musical Instruments” series (N82) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. as premium inside packs of Duke brand cigarettes. Printed by Schumacher & Ettlinger in New York, the tiny—barely larger than a modern postage stamp—depicts a woman gracefully playing a mandolin, part of a larger set that illustrated a range of instruments and their performers. Such trade cards were among the earliest forms of mass-market color printing, using the relatively new technique of commercial lithography to create bright, eye-catching images that encouraged brand loyalty and collecting. Beyond their advertising purpose, these cards offer a vivid glimpse into late-Victorian popular culture. Music-making was considered a refined accomplishment for women, and the series reflects both the era’s fascination with domestic music and the growing visibility of female performers. Today the card resides in the Metropolitan Museum’s Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, one of the world’s most important holdings of American trade cards, preserving these once-disposable ephemera as documents of design, commerce, and social history.

About the Artist

W. Duke, Sons & Co.|Schumacher & Ettlinger · 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...