SALTER, J.H.

"To thee, my silver-footed Thamesis"

Salter’s Guide to the Thames was first published in 1881, by the Salter Brothers (including John Henry Salter) - an old family boating firm on the River Thames, founded in Oxford in 1858. The company ran passenger services from Oxford to Stains and hired out boats in a number of Thameside towns, including Henley on Thames, and soon became the leading authority on the river and the surrounding area.  They decided to  publish information on travelling on the river, and Salter’s Guide to the Thames (of which fifty seven editions were produced between 1881 and 1968) rapidly became a household name and known as one of the most reliable and complete accounts of the sights and sounds of the Royal River Thames.  These handbooks contained helpful information on distances and fares, gave detailed descriptions of towns and points of interest, and included photographic illustrations and fold out maps.  The pages of advertisements provide a fascinating history of the hotels and restaurants (many of which still exist today) at which the discerning traveller could stop.

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