Antique & Vintage Postcards

Damp morning light off the Thames bathes the ancient brick ramparts of Lambeth Palace in this arresting real-photo postcard — a riverside portrait of the Archbishop of Canterbury's London residence that has stood on this south bank site since the 13th century. The "West View" encompasses, left to right, the Great Hall (rebuilt 1660–63), Laud's Tower (c.1640), the ornate Morton's Tower gatehouse of 1490, Chichele's Tower (c.1435), and the medieval chapel flanked by Lollards' and Cranmer's towers — a compressed timeline of English ecclesiastical history in warm red brick. In the foreground a steam launch or ferry tender is moored at a timber landing stage, life-rings hanging ready, while uniformed figures move purposefully on the dock — a reminder that the Thames was still a working artery in Edwardian London. Produced by Hunt's Real Photo Process and printed by J. Russell & Sons of 91 Baker Street, London W, this is card No. 26 in their architectural series, sold as a premium "RPPC" quality product. The reverse is clean, unused, with a dealer's pencilled price of X–500 (likely 5 shillings or $5.00).