Queen of Spades (black), from the Playing Cards series (N84) for Duke brand cigarettes 1888

This lithograph of the Queen of Spades was produced by W. Duke, Sons & Co. as part of a series of playing cards included in cigarette packs. These cards, popular in the United States in the late 19th century, were essentially advertisements. The Queen of Spades, a figure from European royalty, is here reduced to a token in a game of chance, and an incentive to consume a product associated with risk and addiction. Her image, once a symbol of power and status, is now mass-produced and disposable. We might think about how this commodification of imagery democratizes culture, making symbols that were once exclusive available to all. But we should also be aware of how this process can strip those symbols of their original meaning. To understand the full implications of this image, we might turn to the history of advertising, the rise of consumer culture, and the social impact of tobacco use. Art provides a window into the values and anxieties of its time, but its interpretation requires careful attention to historical context and the institutions that shape its production and circulation.