London postcards for sale capture a city built on nearly two thousand years of history. The Tower of London, begun around 1078 by William the Conqueror using stone shipped from Caen in France, has served as a royal fortress, prison and treasury, and remains one of the most photographed buildings in the country. Tower Bridge, opened in 1894 by the Prince and Princess of Wales, was built to ease congestion for the growing population east of London Bridge, its twin towers designed to lift and let tall ships pass beneath.
Postcards of St Paul's Cathedral are another London staple, showing Christopher Wren's dome, completed in 1710 after 35 years of building work. Elizabeth Tower, home to the bell known as Big Ben, was finished in 1859 as part of the new Palace of Westminster following the fire that destroyed the old one in 1834. Marble Arch, designed by John Nash and built between 1827 and 1833 as a grand gateway for Buckingham Palace, was moved to its current spot at Hyde Park's northeast corner in 1851, and appears often in postcards of Oxford Street and Park Lane.
Postcards from other parts of London appear too, from Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden to the streets, parks and river views that made the capital one of the most postcarded cities in the world during the early 20th century.
