Pegasus print and maps shop is closing down after 33 years in business. Proprietor, Robert Lee, says that the two main reasons for the closure are the escalating costs of running a small business and decreasing tourist business. As he puts it: "Tourism is extinct."

Mr. Lee takes pains to emphasise that it has nothing to do with the fact that his shop is located on a prime piece of real estate for developers. "The landlord has been great, they haven't pushed me out."

The property, which extends as far back as the adjacent Bacardi Building, is owned by a private individual who has thus far resisted the temptation to develop the land.

Pegasus has been in the Pitts Bay Road location since February 1969. Mr. Lee recalls: "When we started, we sold antique furniture, porcelain, silver and glassware. Then in the late 70s, prices started to escalate so we had a ten-day sale and everything went. We went into antique maps. big time. About ten years ago prices of maps went through the roof, so we went into cards and gift wrap as well. And then about 15 years ago, I met this marvellous man in England who makes the ceramic house plates. we started that as a joke." Countless homes in Bermuda now have their house names displayed by a whimsical Pegasus house plate.

The shop will close on January 4 2003 and Pegasus will hold a seven day closing down sale for items other than antique maps and prints beginning the day after Boxing Day.

After taking a family holiday in February, Mr. Lee intends to continue selling antique prints and maps on the Internet. "I'll start with e-bay" he says. "Many of our customers have already given us their e-mail addresses." .

However it's "goodbye" to the custom-made house plates and what is arguably the best selection of greeting cards on the Island. A few more weeks remain for placing orders for the Pegasus house plates.

The greeting cards are distinctive because Mr. Lee buys from several small companies, including some in Europe, plus he takes the time to select designs individually. "Most places do it the so-called simple way through Hallmark", he reveals, which means that they order a shipment without selecting individual designs.

According to Mr. Lee, the greeting card business in Bermuda has become more competitive in recent years. With new players Pulp and Circumstance and All Wrapped Up entering the market, sales of cards have flattened out. Pegasus has retained a loyal base of local customers, many of whom are dismayed by its closure, but the decline in tourists has had a major impact.

Historically, Pegasus has sold 80 percent of their antique maps to tourists. They are duty free to US and Canadian residents and cost between $60 to $1500. Mr. Lee says that with the "right kind of customers", Pegasus can have a good day with only three or four map sales. During the Newport race, for example, they did very well. But he does not regard increased cruise ship business as an opportunity to boost sales: "I wish I was another mile further away from them."

In Mr. Lee's opinion, the government should be mindful of the various pressures on small businesses. "I know of two other small retail business that don't want to be named that are probably closing next year."