Antique & Vintage Postcards

On the mirror-still surface of the Blausee — the legendary "Blue Lake" tucked into the Bernese Oberland near Kandersteg — a wooden rowboat drifts with four passengers while a woman and small boy watch from the pine-fringed shore, the snow-streaked limestone face of the Zahlershorn and Birre peaks rising dramatically behind the treeline. This real-photo postcard, sent airmail from Switzerland to River Edge, New Jersey, carries two Swiss Helvetia stamps and a 1967 Frutigen postmark. On the back, Ellen and Frank write to Mr. and Mrs. John in all-capitals enthusiasm: "Driving here beats crossing the G.W. Bridge even if I had to do it every day. All just perfect. Kodak is making money all over, but one must see it. Can't get away from U.S.A. — seen old movies on T.V. in France. Plenty of wine, some good. All the best to the whole family." A perfectly preserved mid-century Swiss travel postcard with a wonderfully candid personal message from American tourists abroad.