“Skating”, image for the Half-Title to the poem “Winter” from James Thomson’s The Seasons, London, 1807, from the Marlborough College Rare Books Collection. Stipple engraving by Peltro William Tomkins with colour applied à la poupée, after a painting by William Hamilton, RA. Thomson dedicated part of his famous Seasons to Frances, Countess of Hertford, châtelaine of the Seymour mansion now known as C1. The volume from which the illustration is taken was presented to the College by the father of David Gill (1891-1922), a Cotton boy, and Captain in the RAF during World War One.
Wishing you a Peaceful Christmas
Louise Moelwyn-Hughes, The Master, Marlborough College