Author:
Thomas Wilkinson Wallis (1821-1903), wood carver ('the Grinling Gibbons of the 19th century'), sculptor and painter of Louth in Lincolnshire [ The Great Exhibition, 1851 ]
Publication details:
The letter to his daughter dated from Louth [ Lincolnshire ], 18 October 1884. Description of carving from 1851. Fragments from journal dealing with events in 1837, 1851, 1862 and 1866.
Thomas Wilkinson Wallis was the greatest wood carver of Victorian England. Born in impoverished circumstances in Hull, by 1844 he had established his own business in Louth Lincolnshire, and for the 1851 he submitted seven carvings, 'of which ‘Trophy of Spring’ was awarded a medal. It was his most intricate carving, it took him 8 months to complete and was considered to surpass the work of Grinling Gibbons.