Album of newspaper cuttings

An album of newspaper cuttings that gives an account of Sir J M Barrie's visit to Dumfries in 1924.   On 11th December 1924, aged 64, Barrie came to Dumfries to be presented with the Freedom of the Burgh.  He made two speeches that day, a formal acceptance speech before an audience of over 2000 in the Lyceum Theatre and an after dinner speech at a gathering of his friends in the evening.  Both these speeches are a rich source of reminiscences about his time in Dumfries.   He was a shy man, and generally avoided appearing in public, so the national media descended on the town, attracted by the opportunity to see and hear him.  It was in the speech he gave during the freedom ceremony that he explained how Peter Pan had first come to life in a Dumfries garden.  The press were delighted with this story and from then on Dumfries became known as the birthplace of Peter Pan.