A Crack at the Truth, from the Snapshots from "Puck" series (N128) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1888

"A Crack at the Truth" is a humorous lithograph from the "Snapshots from 'Puck'" series created in 1888 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote their Honest Long Cut Tobacco brand. The artwork depicts a nearsighted stranger mistaking a horse-drawn carriage, whose horses have met with an accident, for a new electric car. This humorous commentary on the anxieties and novelty of new technology, specifically the rise of electric vehicles, captures the zeitgeist of the late 19th century. The artwork, which was originally published in the satirical magazine "Puck", is currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.