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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Hayti [Haiti].

Hayti [Haiti].

Cigarette card, 1889

Coins of All Nations (Duke's Cigarettes)

George Arents Collection, The New York Public Library. "Hayti [Haiti]." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1850 - 1959. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47de-350b-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

An open-air market, Haiti.

An open-air market, Haiti.

Photograph from The Negro in the New World, 1910

Johnston, Harry Hamilton, Sir, 1858-1927 (Author) Methuen, London (Publisher)

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library. “An open-air market, Haiti.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1910. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-8d1c-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

A Haitian peasant on his way to market.

A Haitian peasant on his way to market.

Photograph from The Negro in the New World, 1910

Johnston, Harry Hamilton, Sir, 1858-1927 (Author) Methuen, London (Publisher)

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library. “A Haitian peasant on his way to market.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1910. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-8d1d-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Toussaint Louverture

Toussaint Louverture.

Illustration from Nouvelle géographie de l'île d'Haïti: contenant des notions historiques et topographiques sur les autres Antilles, 1888

Chez l'auteur, Port-au-Prince (Publisher)

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library. “Toussaint Louverture.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1888. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e0-2265-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

A vudu house, Haiti.

A "vudu" house, Haiti.

Photograph from The Negro in the New World, 1910

Johnston, Harry Hamilton, Sir, 1858-1927 (Author) Methuen, London (Publisher)

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library. “A ‘vudu’ house, Haiti.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1910. hhttps://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47df-8d25-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Le fils du commandant Rosier-By.

Le fils du commandant Rosier-By.

Page from Le pays des négres: voyage a Haiti, ancienne partie francaise de Saint-Domingue, 1881

Hachette et cie, Paris (Publisher)

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library. “Le fils du commandant Rosier-By” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1881. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-7380-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99