Collection

Great Britain — Thomas Cook & Son Circular Note $50 (Proof, ca. 1904)

Unsigned photographic proof of a $50 Circular Note produced by Thomas Cook & Son around 1904. Circular Notes were the forerunners of modern travellers cheques. Issued to clients of the Cook travel agency, they allowed holders to draw equivalent cash abroad through the firm’s authorized banking correspondents. ... Read more →

Great Britain — Thomas Cook & Son Travellers Cheque £5 (Proof, ca. 1922)

Photographic proof of a £5 Thomas Cook & Son Travellers Cheque produced in the early 1920s. By this period, Cook’s cheques had become internationally recognized instruments accepted throughout the British Empire and allied banking networks. The £5 denomination served travelers within the United Kingdom and on continental routes, combining portability with the firm’s guarantee of redemption through its global offices. ... Read more →

Great Britain — Thomas Cook & Son Travellers Cheque 100 Rupees (Proof, ca. 1923)

Unsigned photographic proof of a 100 Rupees Travellers Cheque by Thomas Cook & Son, produced circa 1923 for issue in British India and adjoining territories. These rupee-denominated cheques were part of Cook’s regional adaptation strategy, allowing British and colonial travelers to draw funds in local currency without transporting specie. Each carried detailed bilingual text, ornate guilloche borders, and a space for dual signatures—of the purchaser and the company cashier—mirroring the format later used by standardized travellers cheques. ... Read more →

Australia ca.1939 — Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED £5 Travellers Cheque (Photographic Proof)

Photographic proof of a £5 Travellers Cheque prepared for the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED around 1939, mounted on cardstock and annotated at upper margin for archival use. This early pre-war layout marks one of the first generations of CBC traveller’s cheques, preceding the coloured issues of the 1960s. Produced during the late interwar period when secure portable payment instruments were vital for travel within the British Empire, this proof reflects the evolution of Australian financial printing in collaboration with Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London. ... Read more →

Australia ca.1963 — Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED £5 Travellers Cheque (Photographic Proof)

Photographic proof of a £5 Travellers Cheque for the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED, mounted on cardstock and dated '9/3/63' in pencil at the lower margin. Produced circa 1963 as part of the bank’s internal approval and recordkeeping process for its international traveller’s cheque program. In the mid-20th century, before widespread credit card adoption, traveller’s cheques were the safest form of portable currency for customers abroad. ... Read more →

Australia ca.1963 — Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED £5 Travellers Cheque (Specimen)

Specimen traveller’s cheque for £5 issued by the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, Limited. Printed in blue and green with the same allegorical vignette of a child with fleece used across the series, embodying the themes of trust, productivity, and growth. The CBC of Sydney was a cornerstone of Australian finance, founded in 1834 and later merging into the National Australia Bank. ... Read more →

Australia ca.1963 — Commercial Banking Company of Sydney LIMITED £2 Travellers Cheque (Specimen)

Specimen traveller’s cheque for £2 issued by the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, Limited. Printed in green with an allegorical vignette depicting a child with fleece, symbolizing prosperity, trade, and trust — central ideals in Australian colonial iconography. Traveller’s cheques were part of a major postwar shift in how Australians accessed funds overseas. ... Read more →

Australia 1965 — 10 Dollars Traveller’s Cheque (Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited, Approved Design Proof by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co.)

Approved design proof for the 10 Dollars traveller’s cheque prepared by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London, for The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited. Dated 1965 and annotated “As Submitted – Approved,” this is the final approved version that advanced to production, forming the reference model for the bank’s post-decimal traveller’s cheque issue. The engraving combines subtle multi-tone guilloche in olive and emerald green with precise microline work and a centred map-and-harbour vignette, emblematic of Sydney’s trade and maritime identity. ... Read more →

Australia 1965 — 20 Dollars Traveller’s Cheque (Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited, Rejected Design Proof by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co.)

Rejected design proof for the proposed 20 Dollars traveller’s cheque printed and engraved by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London, for The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited. Submitted in 1965 and annotated “Not Approved,” it represents a parallel concept in the three-denomination traveller’s cheque proposal of that year. The composition features elegant guilloche borders in blue-green and lavender hues, overprinted with a large central watermark-style globe bearing the bank’s initials C.B.C. ... Read more →

Australia 1965 — 50 Dollars Traveller’s Cheque (Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited, Rejected Design Proof by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co.)

Rejected design proof for the 50 Dollars traveller’s cheque prepared by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London, for The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited. Submitted in 1965 as the top denomination in the same three-value series, this pink-rose specimen bears the annotation “Not Approved” and the same submission date as the $20 proof. The engraving is rich and multi-layered, displaying Bradbury Wilkinson’s refined late-intaglio craftsmanship with deep guilloche patterns and broad, formal typography. ... Read more →

Australia 1961 — Bank of New South Wales Sterling Traveller’s Cheques, Complete Proof Set (Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London)

Complete archival proof set of five Sterling Traveller’s Cheques produced by Bradbury Wilkinson & Co., London, for the Bank of New South Wales in April 1961. The set comprises 2 Pounds, 5 Pounds, 10 Pounds, 20 Pounds, and 50 Pounds, each bearing the printer’s manuscript control notations and dated approval workflow marks from the same submission. Across the set, the faces show the full engraved traveller’s cheque design used by the bank in the early 1960s: multitone intaglio guilloche backgrounds, denomination tablets at the corners, central payable text panels, and the Bank of New South Wales London address at 29 Threadneedle Street. ... Read more →