Two women in full Victorian dress stand motionless on a flat-bottomed chain ferry as it glides across the placid River Dee at Eccleston, just south of Chester's ancient walls, while a ferryman poles from the stern and a charming half-timbered cottage with tall chimneys nestles among summer oaks on the far bank — a scene so pastoral it reads almost as a Pre-Raphaelite painting translated into photography. The Eccleston Ferry, which served the Duke of Westminster's Eaton Estate, was a beloved destination for Chester day-trippers in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and images of it are now keenly sought by collectors of both Chester topography and river/ferry subjects. This card bears the characteristic "Post Office Regulations" divided-back layout ("The Address Only to Be Written Here" on the right), which combined with the undivided-front photographic style firmly places it c.1900–1904, making it among the earlier examples of this popular subject. The E.T.W.D. photographer's monogram appears lower left on the image. The sepia tones are warm and well-preserved.