Counter-Archives in
Digital Spaces ⟶

Duke’s Cigarette Cards
Coins of All Nations, 1889

Case Study #1: Curation

The curated selection of photographs, prints, and drawings for each nation are chosen from the NYPL Digital Collection by doing a keyword search for the nation featured on the cigarette card. Results are narrowed down to the decades preceding and following 1889, the year Duke’s Cigarette Cards, Coins of All Nations was released.
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  • Do the curated materials share visual characteristics with the cigarette card? How are they different?
  • What is the point of view of the curated materials? What narratives are presented?
  • Does seeing the curated materials offer an alternative impression of the caricature on the cigarette card?
  • How might these images have influenced Americans’ idea of people from this nation?
  • Choose a card and create your own set of curated materials using the NYPL Digital Collections.

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Cuba

Cuba.

Cigarette card, 1889

Coins of All Nations (Duke's Cigarettes)

George Arents Collection, The New York Public Library. "Cuba." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1850 - 1959. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47de-34f7-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

A Cuban hat factory

A Cuban hat factory.

Photograph, 1899 - 1900

The New York Public Library. "A Cuban hat factory" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1899 - 1900. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-20dc-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Shooting prisoners in Cubannas Fortress, Havana, Cuba

Shooting prisoners in Cubannas Fortress, Havana, Cuba.

Photograph, 1895 (Approximate)

The New York Public Library. "Shooting prisoners in Cubannas Fortress, Havana, Cuba" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1895 - 1900. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e1-1da9-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Esclavos negros

Esclavos negros.

Photograph from Cronicas de Santiago de Cuba, 1908-1924

Tip. de Carbonell y Esteva (Publisher)

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library. "Esclavos negros" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1908 - 1924. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-b7f1-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Some typical Cuban faces - Santiago, Cuba

Some typical Cuban faces - Santiago, Cuba.

Photograph, 1899 (Approximate)

American Stereoscopic Company (Publisher)

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. "Some typical Cuban faces - Santiago, Cuba." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1899. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-fcac-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Cuban woman sitting in a chair and smoking a cigarette

Cuban woman sitting in a chair and smoking a cigarette.

Photograph, 1919

Reboux, Paul, 1877-1963 (Photographer)

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library. "Cuban woman sitting in a chair and smoking a cigarette." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1919. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e0-bc5c-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99