Maine, from the Industries of States series (N117) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1889

This trade card, issued by W. Duke, Sons & Co. between 1870 and 1920, promoting Honest Long Cut Tobacco, is a chromolithograph, a color print created using multiple lithographic stones. The design is striking: a classical female figure, allegorizing the state of Maine, stands before an idealized landscape. The shield she holds presents an industrious scene of logging and agriculture. These would have been powerful images for consumers, meant to evoke a sense of quality and connection to American industry. The card's mass-produced nature speaks volumes about the changing landscape of labor and consumption in the late 19th century. Lithography allowed for the inexpensive production of colorful images on a massive scale, transforming how products were marketed and consumed. The skilled labor of the artists and printers involved is somewhat obscured by the card’s function as advertising ephemera, a disposable item. Consider how such an object challenges our traditional notions of art. While it may not be a unique masterpiece, it reflects the era's values, and the complex relationship between art, labor, and commerce.