Antique & Vintage Postcards

A gleaming boulevard canopied by ancient ahuehuete trees stretches toward Chapultepec Castle on the hill in the misty distance — this superb real-photo postcard by celebrated Mexico City photographer Yáñez captures the Paseo de la Reforma at its most serene, pre-boom moment, when sleek 1930s–40s automobiles glided beneath the boughs in near-solitude. A rounded-back sedan dominates the foreground, its license plate just legible, while a procession of period cars — including what appears to be a 1938–40 Chevrolet — recedes toward the distant castle. Lamppost clusters and a small monument punctuate the median. Yáñez's distinctive handwritten signature appears at lower right with catalog number 742, placing this within his well-documented commercial series of Mexico City views. The Tarjeta Postal reverse is clean and unused, with a penciled dealer price of $1.00.