Edward M. Rowe’s Collection of Photographs of William Wordsworth and his Homes and Haunts, 1874-1951

Assembled between 1874-1951 by a BYU English professor, the Collection of Photographs of William Wordsworth and his Homes and Haunts shows how Wordsworth’s memory continued to thrive from Victorian times until 1951, when his native Lake District was designated a national park. 

 

Wordsworth was associated with places that became destinations for literary tourists. His writing and portrait were immortalized not only in books but also in postcards (and in many other media). Great Britain’s love for its poet laureate is memorialized in the production, distribution, and collection of such souvenirs. Professor Rowe seems to have gathered items of this kind as a way to illustrate the poet’s life and work.