William A. Peffer of Kansas, from the Presidential Possibilities series (N124) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco

Art Historical Context

This small but striking color lithograph from 1888 captures William A. Peffer, a Kansas political figure, as part of Duke Sons & Co.’s “Presidential Possibilities” series. Issued to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco, the card was one of many inexpensive prints that cleverly blended politics with product advertising during the late nineteenth century. Measuring just over four by two-and-a-half inches, it was designed to be collected, traded, or tucked into a pocket, reflecting how everyday commercial objects helped shape public awareness of national figures. Produced through commercial color lithography, the print demonstrates the era’s growing ability to distribute vivid, affordable images on a mass scale. The technique allowed tobacco companies to reach a wide audience with portraits that doubled as both political souvenirs and subtle advertisements. Though modest in format, such ephemera played an important role in American visual culture, turning potential voters into collectors and transforming campaign interest into brand loyalty. Today, this piece resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Burdick Collection, where it offers visitors a glimpse into the intersection of politics, commerce, and printmaking in the Gilded Age.

About the Artist

W. Duke, Sons & Co.|The Giles Company · 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...