King of Holland, from the Rulers, Flags, and Coats of Arms series (N126-2) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. 1888

"King of Holland" was made as a chromolithograph trading card by W. Duke, Sons & Co., sometime between 1870 and 1920. These cards were originally included in cigarette packs. The image depicts the coat of arms for Holland: a crowned lion, brandishing a sword, set against a shield. The text at the bottom proudly proclaims, "We are the largest cigarette manufacturers in the world." There is a tension here. Tobacco use has a long, complicated relationship to power, pleasure, and addiction. The figure of the King, with his ancestral claim and the coat of arms as a symbol of national identity, is juxtaposed with the commercial claim of a company built on the mass production of cigarettes. The image becomes a comment on commerce and power. How does this association between royalty and industry make you feel?