Three Hearts, from the Playing Cards series (N84) to promote Turkish Cross-Cut Cigarettes for W. Duke, Sons and Co.

Art Historical Context

Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century advertising with *Three Hearts*, a charming chromolithograph from W. Duke, Sons &.'s Playing Cards series (N84 Produced in 1888 to promote their Turkish Cross-Cut Cig, this petite card—measuring just 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches—depicts a trio of red hearts in a playful, card-game motif. As ephemera from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, it captures the ingenuity of American tobacco giants who distributed these collectibles inside cigarette packs to build brand loyalty. Chromolithography, the medium here, revolutionized commercial printing by allowing vivid, multi-color images at low cost, mimicking hand-painted artwork. Duke's innovative series turned everyday smokers into avid collectors, fostering a craze for trading cards that prefigured modern baseball cards and influenced pop culture. Today, preserved in The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection—a landmark gift to the Met—this tiny gem highlights the intersection of commerce, design, and leisure in Gilded Age America, reminding us how advertising shaped social habits long before regulatory reins.

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...