1910s WWI Arras France Ruins Vintage Postcard Palais St Waast

About This Vintage Postcard

This antique monochromatic postcard depicts the Palais Saint-Vaast in Arras, France, following the heavy bombardments of World War I. The image shows the skeletal remains of the museum and library wing, with gaping holes in the facade and a collapsed roofline. The palace, originally an 18th-century Benedictine abbey, was nearly destroyed by German artillery fire during the conflict. These ruin views were produced in the late war years and immediate post-war era to document the devastation of French cultural heritage.

Details

Era: Divided Back (c. 1914–1920)
City: Arras
State: Pas-de-Calais
Region: Hauts-de-France
Country: France
Topic: World War I Ruins, Bombardment Damage, Palais Saint-Vaast, Arras History, War Documentation.
Condition: Uncirculated
Address Side: Divided Back
Orientation: Horizontal (Landscape)
Artist / Photographer: Not Stated
Publisher: Neurdein et Cie (ND Phot) / Imp. Crete Succ.
Printer: Imp. Crete, Corbeil-Paris
Print Type: Phototypie / Collotype

Additional Information

The card features a divided back with the French headers Correspondance and Adresse, which became standard after the 1904 postal regulation change. The vertical publisher information identifies the card as a production of the famous Neurdein et Cie (ND Phot) studio, located at 52 Ave de Breteuil in Paris, printed by the Imprimerie Crete in Corbeil. The front includes the Visé Paris registration number 1170, which was a wartime censorship and copyright mark. The bilingual caption in French and English indicates it was likely intended for both local residents and visiting Allied soldiers or tourists visiting the battlefields after the Armistice.

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