Sunday 19 February 2017

World War One Era Autograph Book

Yesterday we had a motor up to Hornby, north Lancashire to a book fair that was being held in the Hornby Institute. A lovely place Hornby, I'm going to have to go back in summer with the camera I think! Small village, old buildings, tea rooms, and a bridge over the River Lune at the side of which is a small weir.

Anyway I didn't buy any books but we enjoyed a good rummage round. I didn't come away empty handed though...

This autograph book was lying on one of the stalls and I had a quick flick through it, noting that the vast majority of pages remained untroubled by ink. But of the ones that had been used there was a mix of signatures, old photographs pasted in or shoved between pages, many of them fragments of a group, some poetry, humour and pencil sketches.

This charming little cartoon was on the first page. Signed J.H. it is entitled Mischief. Whether that's the cat's name or just a description of what it's up to I'm not sure!

A group photo gummed onto a page. There's no names or date I'm afraid but leafing through the book shows that dated entries fall between 1915 and 1919. This book was carried through the First World War. Possibly into war, for as we shall see in articles to come, some have a distinctly military flavour.

The facing page has a small photograph and the signature of ... well the bits I can make out... Percy M Knowles(?) Perhaps Lieutenant Colonel(?) or is the second line Pvt CC (or CE)?

A closer and edited version of the photograph of a party enjoying a walk in the woods.

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