"Wid me one hand," from the Terrors of America set (N136) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1888 - 1889

This small lithograph was made by W. Duke, Sons & Co. in the United States to advertise Honest Long Cut Tobacco. At its heart, we see a boy balancing precariously on a lamppost. Notice the gesture of the boy, mimicking the circus performer, or acrobat. We see echoes of this motif throughout history, from ancient Greek vase paintings of acrobats to Renaissance depictions of Fortuna balancing on a wheel. In each instance, the figure embodies a certain precariousness, of risk, daring, and the possibility of toppling. Consider the evolution of this symbol, where the act of balancing—once associated with religious ecstasy—transforms into a symbol of the transient nature of fortune. Here, the lamp post motif grounds the figure in the banality of everyday life. It is a symbol of street urchins, a new, growing population in the United States, and the struggle for balance on the streets. The circus performer—the acrobat—is now a symbol of a boy striving to survive in the modern world.