At the peak of Edwardian London's theatrical golden age, the brand-new Gaiety Theatre dominates the corner of the Strand and Aldwych in this richly hand-tinted postcard — its baroque dome crowned by a gilded winged figure, its ornate stone facade alive with columns and carved detail, its awning blazing "Gaiety — Opera — Theatre" to the street below. Opened in 1903 to replace John Hollingshead's beloved original Gaiety, the new house designed by Norman Shaw became the spiritual home of musical comedy, launching the careers of performers who defined Edwardian popular entertainment. The Strand below teems with Edwardian street life: open-top double-decker omnibuses in red and cream jostle with horse-drawn carriages, a policeman works the crossing, and fashionably dressed pedestrians navigate the broad new Aldwych curve — a street scene obliterated by wartime bombing and postwar redevelopment. This card carries a remarkable provenance stamp on the reverse: "Cleveland Public Library / Picture Collection / Fine Arts Division," indicating it was deaccessioned from that institution's reference collection, a category of postcard provenance increasingly valued by collectors. Series No. 16; unused.