A Story of Lost and Found Prints, by Maureen Bayliss

In 1981, these  prints of James Lumbers were available in Robinson's General Store in Dorset and I loved them so...they came in a little presentation package in that a matting was part, and on the back of the matting were the legends of each of the images in the series.

In the '90's  Lumbers was at a gallery in Schomberg promoting his work. I heard he was to be at the gallery, unframed them and took them in to be autographed.

When it was 'my turn' I felt shy but handed him the file I had them in and said "I don't know if this
is silly but would you please sign these?"  I had the Pointe Au Baril lighthouse on top and  when he opened the file and looked, he got a funny look on his face and said "do you have the fisherman's house here too?"  I said "Yes, it's underneath"

He told me that the paintings had been 'lost'. They'd been sold and he had no clue as to who owned them and it was the first time he'd seen them again in a long time. They were the 'birth' of Lumber's memories series.

You can see the autograph on the house one, and they've faded a little over the years,  even though I've always kept my treasures out of direct sunlight. 

It's a wonderful set of scenario.  You can see the lighthouse in background of the house, and the house in the background of the lighthouse.

I confess to having  them copied once before as a gift  for a friend of mine who is now 78. Her family cottage was on the next point directly across from the lighthouse and as a kid,  she knew the family that manned the lighthouse. Many a time she stayed over night in it.

Please check out Jame's Lumber's website by clicking here: