A commanding close-up of the base of Mexico City's iconic Column of Independence — "El Ángel" — shot from ground level in dramatic black-and-white silver gelatin, this real-photo postcard (RPPC) captures the monument's elaborate sculptural program in striking detail: allegorical figures in heroic marble poses crowd the pedestal above bronze lions and a reclining female figure, while a small sign on the base reads "Se Prohíbe el Acceso al Monumento" (Access to the Monument is Prohibited), a wonderfully human period detail. Unveiled in 1910 to celebrate the centenary of Mexican Independence, El Ángel stands on the Paseo de la Reforma and remains one of Latin America's most beloved landmarks — and a potent symbol of the struggle led by figures including Hidalgo and Morelos whose likenesses populate the pedestal. This RPPC, numbered 244, bears no publisher imprint beyond the catalog number, is unused, and represents an unusually crisp photographic record of the monument in its interwar-era state, before the earthquake of 1957 caused significant damage to the original structure.