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

This small card, "New Hampshire, from the Industries of States series," was made by W. Duke, Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco. It’s printed on thin paper, likely using a lithographic process with added color. Consider the image: A classical female figure stands before a shield framing a coastal scene, while in the lower left corner are two figures engaged in logging, and the phrase "Farming & Lumber" is printed below. The card isn’t just selling tobacco. It's selling an idea of New Hampshire, equating its natural resources with classical ideals and commercial success. Such cards were churned out en masse, emblems of industrial-scale consumerism. They were inexpensive to produce, yet effective in associating a brand with aspirational imagery. So, while the card itself is a minor artifact, it speaks volumes about the intersection of labor, marketing, and cultural values in an industrial age. Recognizing these factors helps us look beyond the image, toward the complex systems that gave it form.