THOMAS ROWLANDSON (LONDON 1756-1827)

A bustling crowd of holidaymakers arrives at Greenwich by ferryboat and ascends the steps between the Salutation Inn and another building to the left. Both buildings are crowded with couples spectating from the windows. The scene is quite bawdy with numerous men grabbing at scantily dressed women. Another version of this drawing, inscribed 'Landing at Greenwich' is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (P.120-1931). The Seaman's Hospital, now the Royal College, is behind the riverside inn and the hordes of bawdy visitors landing. The inn sign reads 'Letton's Salutation an Ordinary': the 'Salutation' was a pub on the Thames, next to Garden Stairs, Fisher's Lane, Greenwich. The landlord from 1804 to 1818 was John Letton, who was succeeded by his widow and then their son.