Antique & Vintage Postcards

Step through the carved wooden door of one of Vienna's most beloved old-city taverns — this vibrant color chrome postcard is an advertising card for two legendary Alt-Wiener restaurants operated by proprietress Herta: the Paulusstube at Walfischgasse 7, and Zum Weissen Rauchfangkehrer ("The White Chimney Sweep") at Weihburggasse 4, both in the First District. Four interior vignettes show the atmospheric dining rooms in full mid-century gemütlich glory: hunting trophies, embossed copper platters, painted portraits, tartan tablecloths, flickering candle sconces, and the warm patina of centuries-old panelling that made these rooms a fixture for Viennese regulars and discerning tourists alike through the postwar decades. "Zum Weissen Rauchfangkehrer" — named for the folk-lucky figure of the chimney sweep — has roots traceable to at least the 19th century and remained a going concern into the 1980s. The card served as a promotional mailer: the verso carries the restaurant's full address, telephone numbers, and a "Porto verbilligt bis zu 5 Grußworten als Drucksache" (reduced postage as printed matter up to 5 greeting words) notice, unused and unwritten.