Tumblers and Bells, from the Musical Instruments series (N121) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco

Art Historical Context

In the late 19th century, American tobacco companies like W. Duke, Sons & Co. revolutionized advertising by distributing colorful trade cards inside cigarette packages or as promotional inserts. *Tumblers and Bells from their 1888 Musical Instruments series (N121 promoting Honest Long Cut Tobacco exemplifies this innovative marketing. Produced by lithographers Schumacher & Ettlinger this petite chromolithograph—measuring just 2½ × 4⅛ inches—features women with gleaming tumblers and bells, blending musical motifs with the era's fascination for elegant, feminine imagery to appeal to consumers. Chromolithography, a pioneering color printing technique, allowed for vibrant, mass-produced illustrations that mimicked fine art at low cost, making these ephemera accessible collectibles. Duke's cards, part of vast sets totaling millions distributed nationwide, fueled a collecting craze and preserved snapshots of Victorian leisure and gender roles. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department as part of The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, this card highlights the intersection of commerce, artistry, and culture. Burdick's gift immortalizes these humble promotions as valuable artifacts of Gilded Age advertising history.

About the Artist

W. Duke, Sons & Co.|Schumacher & Ettlinger · 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...