A Short History of General Philip Henry Sheridan, from the Histories of Generals series of booklets (N78) for Duke brand cigarettes 1888

Curator: This small, brightly colored lithograph is from an 1888 series produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. Titled "A Short History of General Philip Henry Sheridan," it served as a promotional insert for Duke brand cigarettes. Editor: What immediately strikes me is the caricature style. It’s charming, though the perspective seems slightly off, giving it an almost whimsical quality. The color palette is quite pleasing too; the blues and golds give a strong military look, contrasting nicely with the decorative pink lettering. Curator: These cards were hugely popular at the time. They offered accessible snippets of historical figures, subtly associating their brand with patriotism and notions of American greatness, a prime example of art embedding marketing strategies. Editor: Precisely, the composition here cleverly uses that brand association, look at the gold buttons, meticulously rendered, echoing the color of the tobacco product being advertised, I suspect? Curator: Exactly. General Sheridan, a celebrated figure from the Civil War, is rendered with a sort of… stoic heroism, packaged for mass consumption. Consider the implications of distilling a complex historical narrative into a single, collectible image distributed with cigarettes. Editor: I agree; the formal reduction needed for such a miniature presentation—a kind of flattening of the narrative— is a very modern choice. However, the artist really emphasizes the facial features: that defined nose, those piercing eyes. Curator: Indeed, this piece encapsulates the complex relationship between commerce, art, and historical narrative. These cards are not only miniature portraits; they're also artifacts of the industrial age. They show us how the image of the American hero could be mass-produced, distributed, and ultimately consumed alongside other everyday commodities. Editor: And considered aesthetically, its clever colour balance is really noteworthy too; Duke's products may long be forgotten, but these images hold up through strong graphic arrangement and visual economy.