The book is a collection of judgments by an Elizabethan judge and was published in 1601. The title page is inscribed Pe. Hendra with a further inscription Peter Hendra at the bottom beside the date 1636.
The book was owned by a Welsh family for over a hundred years and had recently been sold to an antiquarian book dealer.
However, after the dealer noticed my unusual name in the pages of ATG, he very kindly retrieved the book and offered to drop it down to London on his next visit. I was unsure at that stage whether this ‘Peter Hendra’ was in fact a relation, but given the dealer kindly offered it to me for £75, I was prepared to take the risk.
A relative of mine in Suffolk knew the whereabouts of a 1602 document signed by a relation named Peter Hendra, a merchant based in Truro, and we were able to make a positive match. We therefore now know that the book did indeed belong to a family relation, who lived only a mile away from where my family still live now.
It’s a pertinent reminder of the central role played by ATG in connecting people and objects and a heartening indication that even after 400 years these things can find their way home.
Lawrence Hendra
Director
Philip Mould & Company
