Card Number 559, Miss Bartine, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-7) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Duke Cigarettes 1880s

This is a trade card featuring actress Miss Bartine, part of the "Actors and Actresses" series issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co., a tobacco company, to promote their Duke Cigarettes. The card dates from the 1880s, a time when tobacco companies used celebrity endorsements to appeal to a wide audience. The trade card is a small, rectangular piece of paper, featuring a black and white photograph of Miss Bartine, likely taken from a theatrical performance. The image highlights the popularity of stage performance in the late 19th century and reveals the use of trade cards as a marketing tool. This particular card is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection in New York.