Don't tell anybody you got this...

I've been collecting Carlisle postcards for a few years now and I don't have any specific criteria for choosing what to buy and what not to buy - except the obvious: cards have to be used, and posted from Carlisle.

Whilst the photos provide interest, there's always going to be a finite number of views to see. It's the messages that intrigue me more, the written word of someone who passed through or lived in the city holds stories, secrets, inanities. One can only imagine how the recipient felt to receive a note from a loved one, a family member, a friend.

Some messages are banal, most are entertaining whilst a few others are just plain mysterious. Today's card is the latter....

I picked this one up from Ebay; posted in September 1902, it's one of the earliest cards I have in my collection, and the only one with this view.

This is English Street at the turn of the 20th century. Very nice photo of a tram in the centre (advertising "James" Cycles - read more about the company on this wonderful blogpost at OldBike) and you can see J. Gibson's shop on the right. Is that a police constable standing right in the centre of the picture, too? Or just a fellow with hat on?

The message is an intrigue. It's more interesting for what it doesn't say than what it does.... simply:

"Don't tell anybody you got this".

That's it. There's no name, signature, or initials of any sort. The recipient is  Miss McGowan, Royal Restaurant... where? I can't make out the lettering for the final destination either but the Royal must've been fairly well-known for the card to have got there.*

So, who is he? A clandestine lover, a young suitor, a man on the run? We'll never know. This 110 year old mystery remains as enigmatic now as when the postcard was first sent.

*Thanks to the commentators, and some sleuthing Twitter users, it's been suggested that the lettering on the address side is "Dfs" and this likely stands for Dumfries. This seems very likely, being so close to Carlisle. A quick Google search indicates that there was a Royal Dumfries Restaurant there (in 1924 at least). So, now to find Miss McGowan....