This is an attractive postal stationery card issued by the Republic of El Salvador in 1890, denominated at 3 centavos. Printed by the Hamilton Bank Note Company, New York, it features an ornate frame in orange with inscriptions in French and Spanish: Carte Postale and Tarjeta Postal. The left side bears a large “3” inside an oval with the legend Unión Postal Universal, while the right side carries an imprinted stamp design showing Mercury, the messenger of the gods, symbolizing communication.

The card follows the Universal Postal Union (UPU) format, with the reverse side left blank for the sender’s message. Bilingual instructions at the bottom specify that one side is reserved for the address and the other for communication.

This early issue represents El Salvador’s participation in international postal reforms and is a fine piece of 19th-century postal history. Examples in good condition, such as this unused card, are prized by collectors of Latin American postal stationery.