Antique & Vintage Postcards

A flag flies proudly from the battlements of Windsor Castle's iconic Round Tower in this atmospheric sepia real-photo postcard, the massive Norman keep rising above a stone curtain wall draped in climbing ivy — a view that has greeted visitors to the Thames Valley for over nine centuries. The Round Tower, begun by Henry II in the 1170s and heightened by George IV in the 1820s, served as the symbolic heart of the royal residence, and this card captures it with the quiet gravitas of early photographic art. Published locally by T. E. Cochrane of 27 Queen's Road, Windsor — just a short walk from the castle gates — this card reflects the booming Edwardian souvenir trade that flourished around royal landmarks. The handwritten caption along the bottom edge reads "Round Tower Windsor Castle" with what appears to be a date notation, anchoring this image firmly in the early picture-postcard era. Never sent, the reverse is pristine, printed with the divided-back layout that places this card in the post-1902 transitional period.