An original Vintage postcard featuring a striking real photographic scene of two uniformed nurses standing amid the charred, smoke-blackened ruins of a destroyed hospital or infirmary ward. The interior shows severe devastation with collapsed roof timbers, burnt debris, scorched iron bedsteads, and large arched institutional windows through which daylight streams into the smoke-hazed room. The reverse has a standard divided back with no publisher, date, or recipient details recorded, remaining unposted with only a faint pencil notation reading "Unknown location".
Real photographic postcards (RPPCs) of dramatic local disasters—such as asylum, hospital, and sanatorium fires—were frequently produced in limited quantities by local photographers during the early 20th century to document regional catastrophes. The distinctive long white aprons, shoulder tippets, and caps worn by the women indicate nursing uniforms characteristic of the late Edwardian to early interwar periods. These compelling documentary images served both as private mementos for staff and as visual records of the extensive structural vulnerabilities common in institutions before modern fire safety regulations.
Please refer to photos for condition.
Shipping:
Posted with care in a protective sleeve and rigid envelope to ensure safe delivery.