W. Duke, Sons & Co. Advertising Materials, 1880-1910

Between 1875 and the 1940s, cigarette companies often included collectible trading cards with their packages of cigarettes. Cigarette card sets document popular culture from the turn of the century, often depicting the period’s actresses, costumes, and sports, as well as offering fascinating insights into mainstream American humor and cultural norms. The W. Duke, Sons & Co. digital collection features over 1800 individual cigarette cards, as well as two large scrapbooks that contain several hundred additional cards. The collection also includes images of other tobacco advertising ephemera such as pins, tobacco tags, silk, and souvenir albums. Companies represented here include W. Duke, Sons & Co., Allen & Ginter, Kinney Bros. Co., Liggett & Myers, and others.