Puzzle Card Number 14, "Interlace" Puzzle, from the Jokes series (N118) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th American advertising with *Puzzle Card Number 14 "Interlace" Puzzle from the Jokes seriesN118). Issued around 1890 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote their Honest Long Cut Tobacco, thisutive chromolithograph—measuring just 4¼ × 2½ inches—was designed as a collectible giveaway. Part of a popular trend in tobacco trade cards, it doubled as an interactive game, inviting users to solve the "Interlace" puzzle through clever visual interplay, blending entertainment with brand loyalty. Printed by Armstrong & Co. using commercial color lithography, the card showcases the era's mastery of chromolithography: a technique layering vibrant inks to mimic hand-painted illustrations at scale. These affordable ephemera were mass-produced for widespread distribution, often collected by children and enthusiasts, reflecting how companies gamified marketing amid fierce competition in the tobacco industry. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this piece highlights the cultural role of such cards in everyday life—ephemeral yet enduring artifacts of consumer culture, commerce, and play. A delightful glimpse into Gilded Age ingenuity!

About the Artist

W. Duke, Sons & Co.|Armstrong & 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...