LEACOCK'S
SUTTON WRITING DESK
The January 2006 Newspacket carries an article by
Beverley June Richmond which describes her attempt to purchase, at auction, a
writing desk believed to have been used by Stephen Leacock at his farm home in
the Sutton area. There were two items presented as provenance and as we
did not have room to included copies in the Newspacket we directed readers to
the web site if they wished to view them.
Beverley's sketch of the desk (which was
auctioned in Napanee and is now on display in an antique store in Belleville
located directly across the road from the newspaper office) and the provenance appear
below.
Sept. 18, 1995
Dear
Mr Reeve
I
am enclosing information on the wood table (Item 72) sent down which I mention
in our conversation last Thursday.
Sutton
was a Leacock locale in the past, for many years ago Mrs. Leacock, the mother of
Steven [sic] Charles and George lived in the town. The house was demolished,
much to the chagrin of the local
Georgina historian who had tired to sae it.
Both
Steven and Charles are buried in the little village churchyard of St. George's
Church at Jackson's Point, six miles from Sutton.
When
walking from Charles' cabin to town he often passed our home. This house has
been an O'Donnell homestead for three generations. It was purchased by my
grandfather, John O'Donnell in 1913...
Sincerely
yours
Joan
Kool
(Handwritten
in a yellowed Claude Monet note card by Hallmark)
________________________________
Stephen
Leacock Table Item 72
Charles
Leacock, brother of Stephen Leacock, lived in Sutton for a time, around 1938,
and new my parents Leonard and Muriel O'Donnell.
He
remarked to my mother that he had a table at his cabin, on Black River Road that
Stephen had used to write on and my mother said she wished she had that.
Charles
Leacock said he would give it to her if she would like it. He then sent it down
and I recall the day it arrived.
It
has been here at the house ever since.
Joan
O'Donnell Kool
Sutton
West, Ontario
(Handwritten
on a small blank ivory-coloured card, written front and back only.)
(Undated)
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