King of Clubs, from the Transparent Playing Cards series (N220) issued by Kinney Bros. 1888

This is the King of Clubs, a playing card from the Transparent Playing Cards series, created by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company. Its stark black lines on a pale background give the piece a graphic quality. The composition, divided symmetrically, presents the king in a formal, almost rigid pose. Note how the linear quality of the artwork flattens the image, emphasizing the two-dimensionality of the card. The clubs, repeated at the top and bottom corners, act as signifiers of the suit, while the king figure, with his sword and crown, denotes power and authority within the game's hierarchy. The card challenges traditional portraiture by reducing the figure to essential lines and shapes, removing any sense of depth or volume. The king becomes a symbol, a set of visual cues rather than a representation of individual identity, and the semiotic function of the artwork allows for easy recognition. This emphasis on structure and sign challenges fixed meanings and engages with new ways of thinking about representation.