A Short History of General Jubal Anderson Early, from the Histories of Generals series (N114) issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Smoking and Chewing Tobacco 1888

Curator: What a peculiar piece! It's got such an… assertive charm. Editor: Indeed. Before us we have "A Short History of General Jubal Anderson Early" created around 1888 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. Part of their "Histories of Generals" series, it uses watercolor, colored pencil, and print work to promote their Honest Long Cut Smoking and Chewing Tobacco. A surprisingly collectible item now housed at The Met. Curator: Right, right, the tobacco tie-in. Honestly, the way it blends the grim and the gracious is kind of captivating. We have the general, a solemn patriarch in one corner, then what looks like symbols of both war and, interestingly, peace tucked away in the others. War and Peace! Quite the brand play, if you ask me. Editor: Note the almost diagrammatic layout; Early’s portrait is rendered with a sort of detached precision, his gaze unwavering. The objects surrounding him—the tent and binoculars allude to military strategy, balanced against a scrolled document marked "Peace" beside a branch, creating visual anchors within the composition. The artist clearly played with contrasts. Curator: The symmetry feels almost… intentional in its slight awkwardness. The stiff portraiture juxtaposed with those softer watercolour flourishes creates a weird tension. It feels staged, yet personal somehow, like rifling through a long-lost family album. Does anyone remember how tobacco ads worked anymore? Editor: Indeed! One could even posit the work's semiotic construction suggests an appeal to a complex array of desires—victory, authority, but also reconciliation. The artist is definitely aiming for the eye to engage both visually and conceptually with competing ideals represented in that delicate little drawing. Curator: I still think it’s fascinating how a little portrait meant to hawk tobacco manages to evoke something strangely melancholy about the Civil War, which probably felt as current to buyers then as WWII does now. Editor: And ultimately, we see how even an advertisement can be deconstructed to find historical narrative, commercial appeal, and the nuanced artistic touches that elevate an everyday piece into a reflection of cultural memory. Curator: Makes you wonder what our cigarette packs of today will mean to those analyzing them 150 years hence! I'm a little afraid, actually.