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

This small lithograph was created by W. Duke, Sons & Co. as a promotional item for Honest Long Cut Tobacco. Part of a series which used allegorical female figures to represent different states, here North Carolina is embodied by a woman in classical garb. These "state personifications" were common in the late 19th century and served to associate the product with idealized notions of American identity and progress. The artist presents a romanticized vision of the state’s industries, naming "Pitch, Tar, Turpentine, Lumber & Tobacco." Consider how this image obscures the realities of labor and race relations in the post-Reconstruction South. The legacy of slavery and the exploitation of African American workers in these very industries are notably absent. Instead, a mythic vision of commerce is offered. The classical allusions, while seemingly innocuous, speak to a desire to align American enterprise with the perceived glory of ancient civilizations, a narrative that often glossed over the human cost of economic expansion. This image asks us to consider the stories we tell ourselves about progress and prosperity, and whose voices are left out of the picture.