Photographic Illustrations

Photography’s widespread adoption in the second half of the nineteenth century led to several editions of Wordsworth’s poetry illustrated with photographs. Photographers captured places associated with Wordsworth and scenes he described.…

These books appeared at the same time as tourism developed in the Lake District, and helped to shape where tourists went and how they saw the area. They created interest in visiting Wordsworth’s houses: this edition of Wordsworth's poems begins with…

Photographically illustrated editions also directed attention to spots described in Wordsworth's poems: this photograph features Furness Abbey, which Wordsworth called a ‘sacred ruin’. These editions told Victorian tourists what sights to visit and…

In The Excursion, Wordsworth describes a village church. He probably based his description on St Oswald’s Church in Grasmere, but he doesn’t mention it by name. This book includes a photograph of the church next to the relevant passage of poetry,…

As well as telling readers how to understand Wordsworth’s poetry, these editions also told tourists what to look for in the landscape. Wordsworth described Dungeon Ghyll Force as ‘a spot, which you may see / If ever you to Langdale go’. This…

The landscape depicted in the photographs was not simply a natural phenomenon, but was modified for tourists’ convenience. In this photograph of the Bowder Stone, you can clearly see the stairs that allowed tourists to climb up and survey the views…

Just as Wordsworth had been wary of the rise of tourism, his trustees were suspicious of the illustrated books that encouraged tourism. They claimed that A. W. Bennett—the publisher of Our English Lakes, Mountains and Waterfalls—had violated their…