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

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th American advertising with *Ohio, from the Industries of States seriesN117)*, a petite commercial color lithograph produced 1889 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. This tiny card (just 4 3/16 × 2 1/2 inches) was issued to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco, likely tucked into cigarette packages as a collectible insert. Part of a series celebrating state industries, it features allegorical imagery—tagged with women and shields—oking patriotic pride through feminine figures embodying Ohio's industrial might, a common motif in era advertising. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized mass printing by layering vibrant colors from multiple stone plates, making high-quality illustrations affordable for everyday promotion. Duke Sons & Co., a powerhouse in the tobacco trade and precursor to the American Tobacco Company, used such ephemera to build brand loyalty amid fierce competition. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection—a treasure trove of prints and advertising artifacts—this piece highlights how commerce intertwined with national identity during America's Gilded Age industrialization. Today, it offers a window into consumer culture, where tobacco cards sparked collecting fads and subtly glorified state economies. A charming snapshot of history, it reminds us how even small prints packed big cultural punch!

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...