Miss Wells in Colors of Royal Welsh Yacht Club, from the Yacht Colors of the World series (N140) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco

Art Historical Context

In the late 19th century, tobacco companies like W. Duke, Sons & Co. revolutionized advertising with colorful collectible cards tucked into product packages. This petite chromolithograph, *Miss Wells in Colors of Welsh Yacht Club*, from 1890 *Yacht Colors of the* series (N140), promoted Honest Long Cut Tobacco. just 4 x 2½ inches, it captures a stylish profile of a woman adorned in the vibrant flag hues of the prestigious Royal Welsh Yacht Club—reds, whites, and blues evoking maritime elegance. Chromolithography, the era's cutting-edge printing technique, allowed mass production of vivid, multi-layered colors on paper, making these ephemera both affordable souvenirs and status symbols. Yachting, a pastime of the elite, lent glamour to everyday tobacco, appealing to collectors who traded series like modern trading cards. The female subject reflects Victorian ideals of refined femininity intertwined with nautical pride. Today, preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this print highlights the intersection of commerce, sport, and print culture during America's Gilded Age—a tiny artifact brimming with historical flair.

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...