Reflected in the still waters of a Bruges canal, the sturdy stone arches of the Pont des Augustins carry the eye past a gabled tobacco-and-cigar shop — its sign reading "Tabak & Sigaren" — toward a row of medieval step-gabled houses receding into leafy trees, a scene almost unchanged from the Middle Ages. Bruges at the turn of the twentieth century was rediscovering itself as a romantic destination after decades of economic decline, and photographers flocked to document its canals; this example, published by the prestigious Éditions Nels of Brussels (Série Bruges No. 51), belongs to one of the most exhaustively documented early Belgian postcard series, prized today for its silver-toned photographic quality. The reverse carries the classic Nels "Carte Postale / Correspondance / Adresse" divided-back layout introduced after 1905, and the card is entirely unused, crisp and square.