Magic Words & Symbols Spotted in the Wild

Death Meets the King of Cups

Death meets the King of Cups in this illustration from The Bab Ballads, written and illustrated by William Schwenck Gilbert, 1898.

Death Tolls the Bell

From Hundert Jahre in Wort und Bild by S. Stefan, 1899.

The Lovers Meet Death

"Our joys are evanescent; the future mocks the present": an illustration from The Quiver, 1874.

Death Takes the Wheel of the Chariot

The race of Death, from Punch, 1903.

A Fatal Smile

From The Idler, 1892.

Death as a Friend to the Poor

From Punch, 1845.

Death Disguised as the Angel of Peace

We found this Tarot Death card in the wilds of The Canadian Magazine, 1905, as a political cartoon.

The Emperor & Death

The Emperor and Death overlap in this image from The Saturday Evening Post, Feb. 21, 1903, p. 4.

Death' s Door

Death's Door, engraved after William Blake. From The English Illustrated magazine, 1890.

A Death Card?

A Punch and Judy Death. Image from The Lewis Walpole Library.