Patrick Henry, from the series Great Americans (N76) for Duke brand cigarettes 1888

Curator: Looking at this lithograph from 1888, a promotional card for Duke brand cigarettes, one immediately notices how it immortalizes Patrick Henry. Editor: You know, it's a peculiar thing, this little portrait, like peering into the soul of revolutionary fervor packaged as a consumer good. Curator: Indeed, a captivating blend. Let's consider the lithograph's structure—the way the portrait is composed and integrated with an illustrative scene. In the background, we see what appears to be a crowd stirred by a speaker. How does the setting add another layer to the portrayal? Editor: Well, I can't help but chuckle a bit! The style feels so stiff yet grandiose. The backdrop almost feels like a theater production rather than, say, the authentic rawness of history. Yet, there's Henry's face in the front—almost serious, as though in preparation to shout "Give me liberty, or give me death!" Curator: Notice also the use of line and color. The cross-hatching in the lithographic process, creating texture in skin and clothing. Color-wise, this image makes you wonder about the perception of national heroes back then... and also, this print quality certainly suggests this was intended for mass production, like any product from W. Duke, Sons & Co. Editor: Okay, formally, it does all build the message up. Still, there is something quite funny to think about this portrait being distributed with cigarette packs. You hold that up, while smoking something. I do find it darkly funny, if nothing else. Curator: Right? A bizarre contrast, to connect an emblem of American ideals with something as prosaic as cigarettes. Think about its implications—Henry as a "brand," co-opted into commercial appeal. What can one even make of that sort of collision? Editor: Perhaps the commodification of history and virtue. One takes these cards with their cigarettes, glimpses these famous figures, and somehow hopes a tiny piece of the greatness will rub off them? Though if that’s it, you know… that’s not a terrible kind of poetry. Curator: An apt remark to end our reflection here. Editor: Cheers to that.