Actress in red and white striped knee socks, from Stars of the Stage, Second Series (N130) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1891

This small card featuring an actress was made by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco. It's a chromolithograph, a color printing technique that became very popular in the late 19th century. The process involved creating multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, which were then printed in sequence to build up the final image. The result is a vibrant image of a stage actress who is strikingly modern in her attire. Looking closely, you can see the layering of colors and the slight misalignments that are characteristic of this printing method. Chromolithography made images like this relatively cheap to produce. These cards were included in tobacco products, enticing customers with glimpses of glamour, while also creating a need for completion to collect the whole series. The image speaks to the rise of consumer culture and the ways in which art and commerce became intertwined, blurring the lines between high art and everyday life.