A Gift from Bourne

Odd items and documents from Bourne's past are continually turning up in the strangest places and one such article was found at a house in the United States in the summer of 2000 and is almost 100 years old but the owner is completely baffled as to how it got there. It was discovered  by Harold Jarvis, a 70-year-old retired minister, from Marietta, Ohio, while rummaging among boxes in his basement and its origins are not in doubt. 

It is a small notebook, measuring just under two inches by three with tin covers and a small holder for a pencil. The front has a framed picture with the inscription Abbey Church, Bourne 52245J.V across the bottom while someone has written on the first page: "This tablet came from England in the year of 1911 shortly after the Coronation." Inside the back cover is a small black label on which is printed in silver: "W. Pearce, Stationer, Bourne."

"My father obtained this from his father's house in the mid-1940s when my grandfather left to live with one of his daughters", said Harold, "and it came into my possession after his death. Thus, I find that I have an item which is probably worthless but which I cherish as a keepsake for sentimental reasons and for its history." Harold knows no more about it than that but I discovered that the item is almost certainly a piece of giftware from our town and sold by the shop mentioned. 

William Pearce, stationer, operated from No 19 North Street, Bourne, where there have been buildings on the site since 1666. His family business was established here in 1840 and continued trading until the middle part of the 20th century when the old premises were demolished to make way for a new flat-roofed modern retail block and this particular unit at No 19 is now occupied by Bourne Bookworld.

It was the habit of some shops to stock such items for sale to visitors and to local people as gifts. If it had contained some mention of the Coronation of King George V in June 1911, then it would have been one of those highly collectable commemorative pieces that are issued to mark such occasions but it appears to be just a simple memento from Bourne. Perhaps it was bought by an American tourist who was visiting England or even sent to the United States as a gift by a pen pal or relative.

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