Antique & Vintage Postcards

A gentle weir breaks the surface of the River Dee as the elegant chain-link suspension bridge hovers in the misty distance — a timeless Edwardian scene from Chester that has changed remarkably little in over a century. Stone mill buildings crowd the right bank, small rowing boats bob near the far shore, and tall poplars punctuate the skyline in this beautifully composed sepia photographic view published by C.W. Faulkner & Co. of London. The Queen's Park Suspension Bridge, built in 1852, was a fashionable destination for Victorian and Edwardian promenaders, and this undivided-back card captures the scene at the very dawn of the picture postcard craze in Britain, when sending a penny postcard was a thrilling new novelty. The card's pristine, unposted condition preserves the delicate halftone printing with exceptional clarity.