Dove Cottage, Grasmere

Poster, London Midland & Scottish Railway, 'Dove Cottage, Grasmere', by Norman Wilkinson, about 1930. Coloured lithograph depicting the interior of William Wordsworth's house at Grasmere in the Lake District. It shows the houseplace, a wood panelled room on the ground floor, with a fire, rocking chair, table, chair and leaded window. Accompanying text beneath reads "Dove Cottage was William Wordsworth's first home in Grasmere Vale. Here he came with his sister Dorothy in 1799: here he brought his bride in 1802; and here he wrote some of his noblest works including "The Prelude" and the famous "Ode- Intimations of Immortality". The Cottage was formerly an Inn with the sign of "The Dove and Olive Branch". It is now open to the public on payment of a small fee, and contains many pieces of furniture and other relics of England's great native poet. In 1808 Thomas de Quincey took the tenancy from Wordsworth and kept it for twenty years." On the left side of the text are the letters "LMS" and at right the company crest. Format: quad royal, 40 x 50 inches, 1016 x 1270mm. Printed by John Horn.