Card Number 26, Lillian Grubb, from the Actors and Actresses series (N145-2) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes 1880s

This is a trade card depicting actress Lillian Grubb, printed by W. Duke, Sons & Co. in the 1880s to promote Cross Cut Cigarettes. The card features a formal portrait of Grubb, seated in a chair with her hands clasped in her lap. The image, which likely derives from a photograph, is characteristic of the photographic trade cards that became popular in the late nineteenth century. It served both as a form of advertising and as a collectible for fans of theater. The card, now part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection, offers a glimpse into the world of nineteenth-century American theater and the ways in which cigarette companies sought to reach new audiences.