Antique & Vintage Postcards

Rowboats line the sandy shore of the Russian River in serene Sonoma County, California, as a summer afternoon stretches lazily toward the forested hills — a hallmark view of the resort era that made Monte Rio a beloved escape from city heat. The black-and-white halftone linen captures the "Meadow Boat House" floating dock, its hand-lettered sign reflected in the calm water, with a lone paddler mid-river and redwood-cloaked ridgelines dissolving into haze. On a Thursday the 21st, a vacationer named "June" dashed off a note: "We came here yesterday — it's hot!! Haven't found any cool California weather yet. My aunt has a home here and it's perfectly delightful." She was due to depart for Seattle the next night and back in Washington D.C. by the 1st — a cross-country summer swing that few could afford in Depression-era 1935, making this postcard a small window into privileged mid-century leisure.