Through ornate iron gates crowned with imperial eagles, the cobblestoned Cour des Adieux stretches toward the famous horseshoe staircase of the Palais de Fontainebleau — the very spot where Napoleon bade his tearful farewell to his Old Guard on April 20, 1814, before departing for exile on Elba. This early-1900s French carte postale, numbered 206 in the ELD series, captures the courtyard in austere winter stillness, the bare trees framing the Renaissance-era wings of one of France's oldest and most historically resonant royal residences. The undivided-back format and printing style place this card firmly in the pre-1910 era of French philatelic tourism.