Caricatured Indian, 2 Annas, from the series Coins of All Nations (N72, variation 2) for Duke brand cigarettes 1889

This small chromolithograph was made around 1890 by W. Duke & Sons, a leading American tobacco company. It’s one of a series of collectible cards inserted in Duke cigarette packs. This one, titled "Caricatured Indian," reflects a popular fascination with global cultures, filtered through the lens of commercial branding. The chromolithography process allowed for mass production of colorful images. Here, the artist used multiple lithographic stones, each inked with a different color, to create the final image. Note the caricature of the Indian figure with the turban, snakes, and coin, rendered with a mix of curiosity and stereotype. The card was a small, cheap item, yet its production involved many hands, from the artists and printers to the factory workers who assembled the cigarette packs. Consider the context. Tobacco companies like Duke built vast empires on the cultivation and global distribution of tobacco. This image becomes unsettling because of its context. It reminds us that everyday objects can be deeply entangled with wider issues of labor, colonialism, and the global economy.