[Editor: This postcard (unused), which incorporates a photograph of a branch of the English, Scottish and Australian Bank, is undated; however, it is believed to have been published in the early 20th Century.]
[Front of postcard]
[Description: A photograph of a building, which is a branch of the English, Scottish and Australian Bank, with a sign above the front door with the text “The E. S. and A. Bank, Limited”; a man with a firearm is at the front of the bank.]
[Reverse of postcard]
POST CARD
Write here for Inland Postage only
The Address to be written here
[No identifying information about the manufacturer was included on the postcard.]
Source:
Original document
Editor’s notes:
Dimensions (approximate): 140 mm. (width), 89 mm. (height).
Two aspects of the photograph are given here in higher definition, to enable a better look at the images of the building’s sign and the man with a firearm.
The bank in the photograph is the Doncaster (Vic.) branch of the English, Scottish and Australian Bank. It was originally built by Pastor Schramm in 1886 as a school house; it was sold in 1890 to the E. S. and A. Bank, and remained standing until 1970, when a new bank building was built on the opposite side of the road, and the old bank building was demolished to allow the widening of Doncaster Road.
See: “ES&A Bank, Doncaster”, Doncaster Templestowe Historical Society, February 2018 [includes a photo of the ES&A Bank in Doncaster]
The phrase “Write here for Inland Postage only” is a wording used on British postcards of the early 20th Century; it is possible that the publisher of the postcard copied a standard British postcard design.
See also another postcard apparently made by the same publisher (the reverse side of the postcards are of the same design):
Australian bullock team [postcard, early 20th Century]
E. S. and A. Bank = (abbreviation) English, Scottish and Australian Bank
See: 1) Bruce A. Smith, “The English Scottish and Australian Bank Limited (1893 – 1970)”, Guide to Australian Business Records, 11 December 1999 (modified 14 October 2010)
2) “English, Scottish & Australian Bank”, Wikipedia
Updated 23 April 2023
Dear Ed. An internet image search for the ES&A Bank, produced, inter alia, the images within this hyperlink:
https://dt-hs.blogspot.com/2018/02/e-s-bank-doncaster.html
Accordingly, it would appear to be the Doncaster, Victoria branch of the bank.
An article below the photos, seems to tell the earlier history of this building — but I might be misinterpreting it, as it is referring to a brick building.
Hi Raymond,
That’s a fantastic find!
Great detective work on locating further information on the building.
Some extra information has been added to the post, using the source you provided.
Thank you very much. Ed