| Method | Photogravure |
| Artist | Walker, Emery after Hoffman, George Spencer |
| Published | Designed & Drawn by Spencer Hoffman, Architect, Printed by Emery Walker, Jan. 1925. Published by John Fothergill, The Spreadeagle, Thame, Oxon. |
| Dimensions | 340 x 435 mm |
| Notes |
An early twentieth century birds-eye view of the countryside north of Thame, in South Oxfordshire, printed by Emery Walker after a design by Spencer Hoffman. The map is designed in an exaggerated style, with overly large figures ploughing, rambling, driving, and fox-hunting in the fields and laneways between the villages and stately homes. The railway line crosses the map from top left to bottom right, passing Brill to Haddenham, and significant historic houses and buildings are shown with a corresponding numerical key in the bottom right. Waddesdon is shown pictorially, as are the villages of the area. In the top right and bottom right corners are a pair of cartouches, one a vignette of the Spreadeagle Hotal, Thame, and the other a publication line for John Fothergill, the Hotel's famous owner. John Fothergill (1876-1957) was a British innkeeper, and society figure, best known for his association with the Bright Young Things. He studied at the Slade as a contemporary of Augustus John and William Rothenstein, opening the Carfax Gallery in St James with the latter, becoming the principal dealer for Sickert. Fothergill bought and ran the Spreadeagle Hotel in Thame, Oxfordshire in 1922, and turned the Hotel into one of the most fashionable spots in the county, attracting the attention of Evelyn Waugh and his circle. Following the hotel's closure in 1931, Fothergill ran the Royal Ascot, and then the Three Swans at Market Harborough. George Spencer Hoffman (1875-1950) was a British architect and artist, known principally for his series of bird's-eye 'Wayabout' maps of British cities. Emery Walker (1851-1933) was a British master-printer, typographer and engraver. He was one of the leading figures in the Arts and Crafts Movement, and the revival of engraving. Walker helped to found the Kelmscott Press and was later a partner of Cobden-Sanderson in the Doves Press, where he was responsible for much of the successful work produced. Condition: Pressed vertical and horizontal folds. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £750.00 |
| Stock ID | 50934 |