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

This chromolithograph was produced around 1870 by W. Duke, Sons & Co. as a promotional item for their tobacco products. At first glance, it is simply an advertisement, but it also reveals much about the politics of imagery in post-Civil War America. The card depicts General Sterling Price, a prominent Confederate officer. By producing images of Confederate figures, tobacco companies participated in the construction of a romanticized vision of the “Lost Cause,” appealing to a specific consumer base in the South. The visual codes are clear: Price is presented as a noble figure, while the scenes of battle evoke a sense of heroism. Understanding this image requires a look into the economic and social conditions of the time. The tobacco industry was booming, and advertising became a key strategy in a competitive market. Such artifacts remind us that even seemingly innocuous commercial images can be powerful vehicles for historical memory and ideology. We can better understand this dynamic by consulting archives of advertising history and studies of Civil War memory.