Now this started off as a bit of a disaster, mainly the back, which was damaged, something I did not immediately notice. But "A Reader", all the way from America, came to my rescue and supplied this super and unblemished reverse.
I have a bit of a soft spot for Duke, or less informally, W. Duke and Sons of Durham, in North Carolina. They were not the first cigarette manufacturer in the World, but, as they so proudly say on this card, they became the largest - and I am sure that this was influenced a great deal by their super cards, which were always so well drawn.
W Duke was a person, not a brand, and his first name was Washington. He was born on December 18th 1820 and he was in the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War, which was not an easy life.
This set is backlisted in alphabetical order - and backlisted just means that all the cards in the set are listed on every card, which is a great incentive to "collect them all" and also to instantly see not only what you are missing, but also almost certainly at least one unfamiliar name to provide a little frisson of shuddering excitement.
Actually this set has a lot of that, for the musical instruments are being delicately handled by attractive ladies, and, for the military instruments, they are wearing military attire. However it is all being done in the best possible taste, these are cards that you could allow anyone to look at without a qualm. And there are also "off camera" suggestions to excite you still more - look at "the Bugle" and you will see that in the free hand there is unmistakeably reins, so this lady is on horseback. Look closer and she is also on a saddle, astride, just like a man - in other ways too, for the saddle would not show in this way if she were wearing a dress, it would have had to ruck up and be bundled at the front of the pommel, making the saddle way less visible. This can only mean she is wearing trousers.
If you would like to see the entire set, it is wonderfully displayed at Interlude/DukeInstruments And there is something really wonderful that we also need to tell you about the very cards they use, for they fully admit that these cards are from the collection of the The Metropolitan Museum of Art - where they form part of The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection.