A BIRTHDAY
WISH  

scroll over flowers
with words:

HAPPY
MAY THY BIRTHDAY
BE

 
Many happy returns
of the day,
may its presence be
welcome each year,
and thy heart be as joy
-ous as May,
with a comfort for,
every tear.
May yearly each bur-
-den grow lighter,
as you travel life's
changeable road,
and every dawning
be brighter,
Till you reach the
bright heav'nly
abode.

 

cm long by cm wide

 

Signed: "T.STEVENS COVENTRY" on back at pointed end:

This bookmark was registered on 11 September 1871

 
There is recorded on this site another, almost identical bookmark. The difference being that there is a large space between the flowers and the words, and this variant is recorded as sb72 on this site.