Lillian Grubb in Colors of Madison Yacht Club, from the Yacht Colors of the World series (N140) issued by Duke Sons & Co. to promote Honest Long Cut Tobacco 1890

This small chromolithograph of Lillian Grubb was created by W. Duke Sons & Co. around the turn of the century, as a promotional item for Honest Long Cut Tobacco. Its materiality is key to understanding its place in society. Chromolithography was a fairly new printing process at the time, allowing for mass production of colorful images. The flat, graphic quality of the print reflects this industrial method. It wasn't fine art; it was advertising, pure and simple. The card is paper, a cheap and easily transportable material. It would have been included in packages of tobacco, incentivizing customers to buy the product. The image itself is a portrait of a young woman in yachting attire, suggesting an aspirational lifestyle of leisure and wealth. Yet the card itself was a commodity, circulated amongst the working classes who consumed tobacco. Looking at this tiny object, we can understand the complex relationship between art, commerce, and social class in the late 19th century. It prompts us to question the role of images in shaping our desires and identities.