I had my doubts as to whether this postcard was truly old or not; its condition was just too good. Certainly the photograph (featuring everybody’s favourite Nagoya Castle) is old, but I imagine anyone with a printer a flair for retro-styling could turn-out something similar before chowing down on their morning Wheat-Bix.

What’s that caption say? Well observed! It says, 「宮離屋古名」, which is kind of gibberish. UNLESS, I read what’s reflected with this mirror I just happen to have! Ahh, It says 「名古屋離宮」, which is read as Nagoya Rikyū – The Nagoya (Imperial) villa.

…interesting. Looking at the wear on the reverse side of the card, it’s apparent that the caption was stamped, or otherwise created by a device that impacted upon the card, denting it slightly. I think we can now safely conclude that this postcard was not made using an ink-jet printer. And, that’s good enough for me.

So, how old might it be? I’d love to hear your thoughts.