Antique & Vintage Postcards

Five lovingly rendered watercolor vignettes of Shakespeare's Birthplace on Henley Street are united on this rich dark-green multiview card — the front garden in full summer bloom, the back garden's tranquil path, the cobblestone street scene outside with horse and cart, and two intimate interior views: the low-beamed bedroom where tradition holds the Bard was born in 1564, and the rough-flagged Room Facing Garden. Published by J. Salmon of Sevenoaks from original watercolour drawings by W. W. Quatermain, this card represents the high-water mark of Edwardian souvenir publishing — a format that condensed a whole pilgrimage site into one keepsake. The Salmon/Quatermain collaboration produced some of the most collected Shakespeare topographical cards of the period, and the multiview format with its elegant dark border and gilded lettering gives this example particular visual appeal. The reverse is unused and clean, printed in Great Britain, with catalogue number 1605.