Virginia, from the Industries of States series (N117) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1889

This promotional card for Honest Long Cut Tobacco, created around 1900 by W. Duke Sons & Co., presents us with a classical allegory of Virginia. Clothed in draped fabric, she holds a flowering tobacco plant, a symbol of the state's agricultural wealth. But let us delve deeper into these motifs. This allegorical representation connects Virginia to a lineage of classical goddesses of abundance and prosperity, echoing images of Flora or Ceres found in Renaissance paintings. The tobacco plant itself, offered as a symbol of Virginia's bounty, invites us to contemplate how a plant once seen as a medicinal herb has been transformed into a global commodity, driving economies and shaping cultures. Consider how the archetype of the bounteous goddess has shifted across time, reflecting changing societal values and economic realities. From ancient grain goddesses to modern-day agricultural symbols, this visual language persists. It engages our collective memory.