Sifting through a folder at the archives, you have a general idea of the contents but you don’t know what interesting items you may find that pique your interest. These invoices from 1909, in a file of administrative papers, are typical of the period with their elaborate headers of intricate & detailed engravings. All three companies were founded in Australia, two of those in Brisbane. Only Hardy Brothers still exist today although it has changed hands since the original owners.
Hardy Brothers
Hardy Brothers Limited, Goldsmiths & Jewellers. This invoice head has an exquisite engraving with some typical art nouveau elements, the style of the period.
The business was originally opened in Sydney by a young John Hardy in 1853 not long after his arrival from England. The original brothers were John and Samuel. John had apprenticed as a watchmaker under his brother Samuel, a jeweller & watchmaker who remained in England. Hardy Brothers opened their showrooms in Brisbane, Queensland by 1894. The following year they purchased the building in Queen Street which is now on the Queensland Heritage Register.
Finney Isles & Co Limited
Finney Isles & Co. Ltd, Merchant Drapers & Clothiers was a well-known Queensland department store. It had its origins in 1864 when Thomas Finney and James Isles brought their drapery business from Dublin to Ann Street, Valley, their original Brisbane store.
The invoice calls the Finney Isles building on Edward & Adelaide Streets, ‘The Big Block’. The phrase was used across their stationery and advertising in reference to this building. When the company relocated to their new luxury premises in Queen Street in early 1910, the phrase was kept and emblazoned on the parapet where it can still be seen today on the Queensland heritage listed building.
There is all the usual information a company needs to convey – addresses, telephone numbers, terms of business etc. But there is also a motto in the left hand corner ‘Let us be judged by our actions’ printed around an interesting creature. This motto has been used by many institutions in the past and present. The creature itself appears to be a representation of a type of wyrm dragon from Irish mythology – an interesting addition to an invoice head.
The company was taken over by the Sydney based retailers David Jones Ltd. in the mid-1950s, although it retained its name for the next decade.
John Hicks Limited
John Hicks Limited, Furnishing Experts. John Hicks, the son of a Cabinet Maker, established the company in Brisbane, Queensland in 1867 as can be seen on the invoice. He had immigrated to Australia as a child with his family originally settling in Tasmania. Later, he made his way to Queensland where he initially worked on the steamships along it’s coast.
He started out selling second hand furniture in Albert Street, before moving to the address in George Street (cnr. of Ann Street) where the showrooms, warehouse, and factory were situated. Later a factory was established on, what is now, Coronation Drive, Milton in Brisbane in addition to the city showrooms where the company remained for several decades.
It became a public company in 1915 trading as John Hicks & Co. Ltd and later was known as Hixco. Original pieces of John Hicks furniture can still be found for sale today.