High and Lofty Tumbler, from the Jokes series (N87) for Duke brand cigarettes 1890

Curator: This lithograph, "High and Lofty Tumbler" from the Jokes series by W. Duke, Sons & Co., produced around 1890, served as a trade card, advertising Duke brand cigarettes. It's quite something. Editor: My goodness, talk about living large! That's not a glass, it's practically a golden skyscraper. The flush in his cheeks tells quite the story, doesn’t it? Looks like he’s really committing to the, ah, product. Curator: Precisely! These trade cards were mass-produced, slipped into cigarette packs as collectables, offering glimpses into popular culture and, more importantly, shaping consumer habits. Notice the attention to detail—the rendering of the glass, the foamy beer. It’s commercial art, designed to be appealing and memorable. Editor: Appealing is one word for it! It’s like a Dutch Master painting gone tipsy. The poor man looks utterly dwarfed by the beverage; it becomes almost monstrous in its size. But there’s a jovial charm, like a scene from a pub brimming with laughter and tall tales. Do you think he can see over that thing? Curator: That exaggeration, the slight distortion of reality, is key. Caricature amplifies the pleasures, hinting at a life of leisure afforded, ostensibly, by purchasing Duke's cigarettes. It taps into aspirations. The labor involved is less important than the aspirational, humorous payoff. Editor: Makes you wonder about the folks who made this image; their hands directly participated in cultivating a brand that winks at you with this slightly drunken gaze. Did they find amusement in it? It seems absurd, maybe wonderfully so, to package death sticks with a picture of overflowing vitality. Curator: I agree, it's an interesting paradox. The card presents a sanitized, almost comical version of consumption. Editor: And it still kinda works, doesn’t it? I mean, I'm strangely charmed, or perhaps startled, by the ambition, that exaggerated scale of a ‘Tumbler’. Curator: So you find its humor compelling even today? A good observation. The echoes of capitalist drive and artistic license can create lasting effect. Editor: Well, consider me somewhat refreshed by that tall glass of… lithography.