Moss Rose: Confession of Love, from the series Floral Beauties and Language of Flowers (N75) for Duke brand cigarettes

Art Historical Context

This charming 1892 commercial color lithograph, titled *Moss Rose: Confession of Love*, was created by the Donaldson Brothers for the American Company as part of the “Floral Beauties and Language of Flowers” series (N75) issued with Duke brand cigarettes. Measuring 2¾ by inches, the tiny card was designed to be collected from cigarette packs, blending advertising with the popular Victorian pastime of floriography—the symbolic “language of flowers.” In this visual code, the moss rose conveyed a tender “confession of love,” pairing delicate blooms with an elegant female figure. Such trade cards reflect the late-nineteenth-century boom in colorful chromolithography, which allowed manufacturers to produce affordable, eye-catching images at scale. By linking cigarettes to romantic imagery and genteel floral symbolism, Duke sought to soften the product’s image and encourage collecting among a broad audience. Today the piece survives in the Metropolitan Museum’s Burdick Collection of printed ephemera, offering a vivid glimpse into how everyday commercial art shaped popular taste and courtship rituals of the era.

About the Artist

Donaldson Brothers|American Tobacco Company (American| ) · 1850 | –1870 |

American, New York|