PJT 1747

I didn't want to spend yet another week on Edwin Drood, but I wanted to explain the meaning of these initials that Mr. Grewgious wondered about (so frequently throughout the novel). For those of you who have not read Edwin Drood yet, Mr. Grewgious is a character who lives in a house where the initials PJT 1747 are inscribed in the wall. Throughout the book, he wonders about what the initials might stand for, and thinks about it when he is bored or distracted.
Here are a few of my initial answers:
- Perhaps John Tyler
- Poor Jammed Toes (injured in 1747)
- Peanut butter and Jam Toast (as old as 1747?)
- Pete Jasper's Teeth
- Possibly Junky Tweasers
etc...

Later, I discovered what it actually meant. Here is an except from my story notebook:

"PJT stands for the initials of the president of that particular inn where Mr. Grewgious chose to take his lodgings.
President John Thompson 1747
President of the Staple Inn, London, 1747