Summary

Alternative Name(s): Credit Card, Charge Plate

Cann's store card, self-described as a 'Charge Plate'. The company's motto was 'It's a Woman's World at Cann's.'

Cann's was a department store in Swanston Street for much of the 20th century. An article in The Age, 19 February 1973 marked the changing of hands of Cann's, a family business established in 1909 by 40-year-old widow Hannan Cann, in a rented shop in Smith Street, Fitzroy. The article explained that she ran it with the help of her three daughters, and quickly expanded to three stores. In 1913 Cann's opened a shop on the site of the Capital Theatre in Swanston Street, and in 1920 Cann's moved to the corner of Swanston and Little Collins Streets. Hannah and her daughters remained closely involved in the daily activities of the business. Hannah retired in her seventies in 1935, when her daughter Nell took over; in 1965 Nell handed control onto her son Peter Tronson. Clothing appears to have remained the mainstay of the business.

Physical Description

Canns store card, rectangular with rounded corners, printed in pink on white. Front features name of store in large font, and name and address of user in raised black lettering. Back has line drawing of store with conditions of use and actions if it is lost or stolen.

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