Valley of the Thames Poster – Charles Sharland

Valley of the Thames Poster by Charles Sharland

Spending time on the water, drifting down the river in a rowing boat on a lazy summer afternoon. Sounds idyllic, doesn’t it? Well, that’s exactly the scene portrayed in this vintage Valley of the Thames Poster for the Undergound railway.

The Valley of the Thames poster was created by the British artist Charles Sharland. He worked as an artist for the London-based printer Waterlow & Sons, where he produced the artwork for hundreds of railway posters. He specialised in travel and transport posters for the Underground Group.

The Valley of the Thames was the first poster Sharland realised for the Underground. It was created in 1908 and features a beautiful image of ‘Richmond from the Water’. A delightful scene of the River Thames as it winds its way through the English Countryside. The scene is completed with people lazing about on the river bank and milling around in boats.

The poster was well received and was considered important enough for John Henry Lloyd to reproduce it as one of the posters displayed on the wall in his 1910 Underground poster ‘Too Much of a Good Thing’.

The beautiful Valley of the Thames

The Valley of the Thames or Thames Valley is an unofficial name given to the counties in England that follow the River Thames between Oxford and London. The river runs through Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Middlesex and Surrey before passing through London and finally reaching the North Sea in Essex.

During its 215 mile journey it passes through some of the most beautiful countryside in England, taking in the cities of Henley on Thames, Oxford, Reading and Windsor and past many historical sites in the country.

Valley of the Thames and William Wordsworth

In 1798, the incredible beauty of the region at Richmond inspired William Wordsworth, the romantic English poet to pen the poem ‘The Thames, Fair River.”

“Glide gently, thus forever glide, O Thames! That other bards may see,
As lovely visions by thy side, As now, fair river, come to me.”

‘Lines written near Richmond, upon the Thames, at Evening’ William Wordsworth, 1798

Buy the Valley of the Thames poster

Charles Sharland’s Valley of the Thames poster is a great way to capture the beauty of the meandering stretch of the river at Richmond looking towards the quaint village and its buildings, which is now a suburb of Greater London. It’s a beautiful and romantic railway poster that will make the perfect addition to any room in your home. Happy boating!

Our posters are carefully and professionally created from vintage originals. Whilst great care is taken in the production of these posters, we also try to maintain a vintage feel, so there may be small imperfections, fold marks, scuffs, tears, or marks that were part of the original poster master. If these do appear they should be visible on the larger views of the item on this listing. The originals of many of the posters we offer can cost many thousands of pounds, so whilst these posters look great, especially framed and mounted on a wall, they are intended as fun, affordable reproductions and not intended fine art prints.

The 50x70cm version has been specially produced to be used in conjunction with Ikea’s 50x70cm Ribba picture frame which currently retails for around £12. So you can bag a bargain of print and frame for a great price.