Could this be a stonemason's 'sample'? Books, open and closed, were
favourite motifs on gravestones in parts of the UK in the late C18 and early
C19, especially in Cumbria and other parts of northern England. Trade
travellers in e.g. pottery and publishing often carried miniature mock ups,
samples or maquettes of products for potential customers to see. Could
travellers for stonemasons have done the same when visiting families to
discuss designs for headstones?
I should be glad to see a scan of the photograph, if you could kindly send
it as a jpg attachment.
Kind regards.
Peter Freshwater
Peter B Freshwater MA MCLIP FSAScot
43 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh EH12 5QQ, Scotland
Telephone 0044 (0)131 337 7049
Email [log in to unmask]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Edward R. Reid-Smith" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2003 5:30 AM
Subject: Stone-carved book
> Dear Colleagues,
> The following news-cutting from the "Newcastle [NSW] Morning Herald" of 24
> July 2003 has been sent to me by a colleague. I'd like to hear from
anyone
> with information, and I can scan a photo of the "book" (which seems to be
> less than palm-sized) on request. As far as I can see, it bears no
writing
> on what looks like a closed book carved from granite, with imitation
simple
> blind tooling.
>
> Quote: "Mystery of tome set in stone. By Carly Hennessy. Archivists would
> like to close the book on a mysterious stone artefact which has been
donated
> to the Newcastle [NSW] University Library.
> The stone book was passed down from benefactor Robert Stephens'
grandfather
> to his father and then to him.
> Auchmuty Library archive officer Gionni Di Gravio is searching for clues
> about the book's origins and purpose.
> '(Mr Stephen's) understanding was that prior to the age of printing, when
> books were rare, these stone books were carried by people to church,' Mr
Di
> Gravio said.
> He had emailed photos of the book to museums and libraries across the
globe,
> hoping to get some idea of its age.
> He said it was likely to date to pre-Victorian days, possibly the Georgian
> era.
> 'It could have been a stone missal that acted as a substitute for a
Bible,'
> he said.
> 'It was possibly blessed by a priest and then took the place of a Holy
Bible
> as spiritual protection for someone who couldn't read.'
> The other theory was that it was a memorial for the dead." End of
quotation.
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> Dr Edward R. Reid-Smith
> 2 Salmon Street
> Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia
>
> home phone: +61 2 6921 4759
> home fax: +61 2 6921 9115
> email: [log in to unmask]
> ------------------------------------------------------------
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