The front of the postcard most likely depicts a period of time in the early 20th century. At the earliest, the postcard is supposed to depict Princes Street in the mid 19th century. This is proven by the completed Scott Monument that is shown in the picture. The monument was completed in 1846 so a postcard from before that date isn't very feasible. The postcard itself is average size and is unfortunately heavily disfigured on the back side. The postcard shows the extent to which commercial development along Princes Street had begun in the early 20th century. Larger buildings were becoming more and more commonplace on the north side of the road. 

The back of the postcard presumably contained more extensive details about the publication date and location. Unfortunately, the back of the postcard is severely damaged obscuring most of the information on the back. There is enough information left to determine that the company that published the postcard is based in London. As mentioned in the previous section, the dating of the postcard is at least after 1846, but the precise date is faded. The address the postcard was addressed to is also obscured past the point of visibility.