Daboll in costume of middle classes, France, 1810, from the set Actors and Actresses, First Series (N70) for Duke brand cigarettes 1888 - 1889

This is Daboll in costume of the middle classes, France, 1810, a lithograph produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. sometime between 1870 and 1920. This piece speaks to the politics of imagery and the social conditions that shape artistic production. Here, a card originally included in Duke brand cigarettes depicts an actor named Daboll in middle-class garb. But why evoke 1810s France in an advertisement from the late 19th century? The answer lies in the cultural references embedded in the image. The attire suggests a striving for upward mobility, resonating with America’s growing middle class. It subtly links smoking with sophistication, aspiring to a refined European identity. Duke, Sons & Co. aimed to associate their product with a perceived golden age of elegance and culture. Analyzing this lithograph requires us to ask about the marketing strategies of the tobacco industry. Resources such as advertising archives and social history texts help to interpret art as a product shaped by institutional forces and consumer culture.