Sunlight filters down into a Spanish-mission-style courtyard where twin circular fountain pools shimmer with tropical blues and flowering plants crowd the colonnaded walkway — this vivid linen-era card depicts the Key West Aquarium, the nation's first open-air aquarium, as it looked in its prewar heyday, a beloved attraction where "commercial fishermen are constantly bringing in rare specimens of marine life," as the back copy proudly advertised. The warm ochre stucco facade, green metal roof, and bougainvillea-draped arches give the scene an almost dreamlike, hand-tinted tropical glamour typical of Tichnor Brothers' linen printing at its finest. On the back, a traveler named Charles dashed off a quick, warm note to friends — Mr. and Mrs. Springer of Port Huron, Michigan — on February 18, 1940: "Wish you were with us. Had a grand trip. We are going through to Ga. for a few days. Will see you soon. Love, Charles." The card bears a green 1¢ Presidential series stamp (Martha Washington), postmarked Key West, Fla., making it a complete and charming time capsule of Depression-era Florida tourism.