Dusk settles over the River Thames at Thames Ditton in this exquisitely rendered tonal postcard — a rowboat carrying two figures glides across mirror-still water while a swan floats nearby and a small sailing vessel catches the last light near the wooded Surrey bank, the spire of St Nicholas Church just visible through the trees. This is not a photograph but a fine photogravure or collotype reproduction of a painterly composition, all silvery atmosphere and romantic calm, characteristic of the best Edwardian landscape postcard art. Thames Ditton, a quiet village on the Surrey bank of the Thames between Kingston and Walton, was a favoured retreat for Victorian and Edwardian leisure-seekers, and scenes like this were eagerly collected by those who had punted or rowed these reaches on summer afternoons. Published by C. W. Faulkner & Co. of London EC — one of the most respected British postcard publishers of the era, known for their fine art and topographical series — this card from their Series No. 116 represents the genteel taste of Edwardian England at its most appealing. The reverse, with its ivy-decorated "POST CARD" header, is completely unused and in crisp condition.