Commodore's Pennant, Sweden, from the Naval Flags series (N17) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands 1886 - 1891

This small card of the Swedish Commodore's Pennant was made by Allen & Ginter for their cigarette brand. The flag dominates the image. Notice how the colors are divided into distinct zones. On the top left, red, white, and yellow interlock, while below it, the Swedish blue merges into yellow horizontal lines. The card's composition, divided between the flag and the naval scene below, creates a dialogue between the symbol of national identity and its practical application on the seas. This division highlights the relationship between representation and reality. The flag not only symbolizes Swedish naval power but also embodies the complexities of cultural identity and representation. The very act of representing a nation through a flag—a semiotic device—reveals the ambition to distill the essence of a culture into a visual form. This card, therefore, becomes an exercise in cultural semiotics, inviting us to consider how flags function as signs within a larger system of meaning.