Small mystery from 1883. What does this name say and who was Percy Cooke?

[BatsVSBelfrys]

I've picked up an antique jewellery box on my travels - it's very battered and has seen better days but that's all part of the charm I suppose!

Anyway, it has a brass plaque screwed into it. I 'think' it says A D Gough but I'm unsure of the U in Gough. Can you make it out?

Also it was made by Percy Cooke 194 Regent street. (Doesn't add London but I'm assuming this?)

Google doesn't throw up anything - can anyone assist?

Thanks!

This might be a better fit:
Arthur C. Gough, born 1867, in 1881 living at 53 Highbury Park, Islington. Widowed mother lived on income from dividends and had 2 servants.

'Lived on income from dividends.' Those were the days.

Sixteenth birthday present, maybe?

@LenaLamont that's almost identical. Although of course in much better condition that the one I have which I paid a tenner for

@Epicureous ooh that's amazing! And potentially a decent fit? Someone living in London makes sense

What a lovely bit of history and how cool that you can possibly identify the original owner!

That’s exactly what I was thinking @MrsDanversGlidesAgain. If it is Arthur Cecil Gough, his father Howard England Tunnicliffe Gough was a clergyman who married Julia Mead Cave, daughter of a clergyman, on 29th March 1854 in Stetton En Le Field, Derbyshire.

It’s a writing box, hence the sale by a stationery shop.

Continuing to bark up this tree (possibly the wrong one) …
Arthur C. Gough graduated from Wadham and was the rector of Clay Coton. Reverend Gough died in Rugby in April 1939.

@Gilead didn't know that Percy Cooke was a stationer to begin with

Oh I was so hoping the rector lived at St Mary Mead 😞

@Epicureous that would be so cool of it had been owned by the rector! And surely a rector would have a nice writing box?!

It was clearly owned by someone with perhaps a little bit of money who appreciated fine things. The fact it was engraved for him / her shows it was probably a special gift or purchase.

Engraved with a date too so that indicates a special event / maybe a birthday like @MrsDanversGlidesAgain mentions

Can you find when Arthur's father died, @Epicureous ?

I love digging into this stuff.

@MrsDanversGlidesAgain It seems he died between 1867 and 1871. There is a death in Jersey but I’m not sure.

Totally invested in this.

Later date fits with ACG's birth - or even the earlier one. The box owner might have been a posthumous child.

It would be good to find an A C Gough who either had a birthday or got married on 30/6/1883 - or was possibly christened though it is a bit of an odd christening present 🤔

It not a writing box but a travel jewellery case. The round "well" is for a ladies pocket watch. I have a similar case and watch from the same period. A stationer would have sold boxes like this and a PP mentioned an Agnes C Gough of Islington who, from her dob, would have been sixteen when the box was engraved with her name.
So you have Angne's sixteenth birthday jewellery box.

Love this

Wow @RoseyLentil - where did you find this info? And I am now swayed towards thinking you're right -- I was puzzled as to why a writing box would be velvet lined

hw are you guys finding out all this? Enlighten me!

I think Agnes' middle name was Caroline - as that was the name of her mother

And in the 1881 census she was 14 so yep, she'd have been 16 in 1883.

So if we can find out for sure that this Agnes was born on the 30th June 1867 we can be almost sure it was her box

If this is her, then she was Agnes Charlotte Gough. Her parents were Henry Coleman Gough and Caroline Eves. She married Walter French in 1892. I can't find an exact birthdate for her so far though, but if you can find a marriage or death certificate or record it might give her DOB.

@HollyKnight that's fantastic. Definitely getting closer to it I think. I made an assumption about the C standing for Caroline!

So now it's a case of trying to find her exact birthday! My ancestry account has lapsed so I've been a bit limited. May have to reactivate it!

That was my initial thought too. But turns out Henry's mother was a Charlotte so that will be where that came from I imagine. Annoyingly I can find his birth certificate, but not his daughters!