Antique ~ Bronze Patina ~ 9 Inch El Camino Real Souvenir Desk Bell ~ Pat. 1914

Description

The history of the bell is interesting and follows:
In the 1760’s the government of Mexico (New Spain or Espana Nuevo) heard rumors of Russian encroachment on their claim to Alta California. They quickly dispatched a group to plan out settlements along the California coast. They created a path from San Diego to Sonoma, like every other road in New Spain it was considered a King’s Roadway (El Camino Real). El Camino Real was traveled for many years by soldiers, priests, homesteaders, etc... During this period 21 Mission Settlements were created.
In 1884 Helen Hunt Jackson wrote a book,
Ramona,
creating nationwide romanticism and helping to bring about the Mission Revival movement. In 1914, Mrs A.C.E. Forbes proposed to place bell markers in front of each of the missions as well as along the route of the old “”El Camino Real”. Mrs Forbes began creating the bells in the foundry she and her husband owned. Each bell weighed 80 lbs and were placed on 11 ft shepherd’s crook shaped stands. Over time, 450+ bells were erected. Attesting to her wisdom, Mrs Forbes also created this desktop version of the bells and sold them as souvenirs. They were made between 1915 and 1955.
The souvenir bell stands 9 1/2 inches in height. The base is approximately 2 3/4 inches in diameter. The bell and base are cast bronze and under the base the molded Forbes mark can be found along with “PAT 1914”.
On the outside of the bell are the dates 1769-1909 along with the words “EL CAMINO REAL”.
The plaque reads “EL CAMINO REAL” on the first line of text, the second line reads “SAN DIEGO - LOS ANGELES” and the last line of text is “SAN FRANCISCO”.
Around the border of the base is molded “EL CAMINO REAL THE KINGS HIGHWAY MISSION BELL GUIDE POST MARKING”.
All items are packaged to ensure they arrive intact.