Antique & Vintage Postcards

Every surface of this extraordinary room speaks the language of Empire: painted medallions depicting Napoleonic victories line the walls in trompe-l'œil panels, an ornate frieze of imperial eagles and laurel swags rings the ceiling, and a marble mantelpiece anchors a suite of Empire-style furnishings — all preserved exactly as Napoleon I used them at the Château de Rambouillet, the ancient royal hunting retreat he claimed as his own imperial residence. This sharp black-and-white LL postcard, no. 31 in the Rambouillet château series published by Lévy et Neurdein Réunis, shows Napoleon's personal bathroom (Salle de Bain) in remarkable interior detail — a photograph that serves as a rare pre-WWI document of the room's decorative program before any subsequent restorations altered the space. Unused and clean, it would pair handsomely with any collection focused on Napoleonic interiors, Empire-style decorative arts, or French royal châteaux.