Antique & Vintage Postcards

The brooding medieval silhouette of the Conciergerie — once a royal palace, later the infamous prison where Marie-Antoinette spent her final days — rises dramatically above the still waters of the Seine, its four Gothic towers and steep slate roofs reflected in the river's pewter surface, while the graceful stone arches of the Pont au Change sweep across the foreground in this sharply rendered real-photo card by the celebrated Parisian publisher Yvon. Technically published under the "Paris… En Flanant" (Paris… While Strolling) series as item no. 23, the photograph achieves a near-cinematic quality rare for postcard work of the interwar period — note the crisp water texture and the lacy ironwork detail on the bridge's parapet. The back identifies this as "Le Palais de Justice et le Pont au Change / Law Courts and the Pont au Change," printed bilingually for the international tourist market. Éditions d'Art Yvon operated from 14, rue de Bretagne, Paris, and their high-quality photographic cards are prized by collectors of Parisian ephemera.