

Charles Davis. Sole agents for John Wisdens & Sons cricketing goods. Printed in Melbourne by W. F. Niven, posted 21 May 1909. Used by Charles Davis in person.
This card pictures the Charles Davis hardware shop in Elizabeth Street, Hobart, on the corner of Cat and Fiddle Lane, now Cat and Fiddle Arcade. Charles Davis vacated the site in the 1984.
This card was produced by the Melbourne and Ballarat printing company of F.W. Niven. In the first decade of the twentieth century F.W. Niven produced hundreds of advertising postcards for businesses throughout Australia. Mike Simco [1], in 2012, listed 290 from Victoria and 205 from Tasmania, with lesser numbers from other states. Cards are known only from the period 1908 to 1915; this one is dated 21 May 1908.
Niven postcards have a characteric appearance of intense pastel colours in an elaborated image. This Charles Davis card has been enhanced by the addition of a flag and of imposing buildings on both sides of the Charles Davis shop. The domed building inserted on the left looks at first sight to be the Tasmanian Exhibition Building, but the details do not match exactly; apparently the Niven artist exercised some licence when enhancing the scene.
The card is very unusual in that it has been used by Charles Davis himself, probably not the first Charles Davis, but his son also Charles Davis.. It is addressed to "Mr James Pearce, Ouse" (That's all the address you needed in those days!), with a message "Dear Sir, Your order 6 lbs manilla rope, please say what thickness you want it. C. Davis". Mr Pearce was a bit careless in ordering rope in a vague way, and there was no telephone to check on the details!
[1] Simco, Mike. 2012. F.W. Niven's advertising postcards of Tasmania. (Updated Edition) Published by the author. 18 pp.