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Two tile panels showing episodes from the fairytale Puss in Boots, in a series designed by Margaret Thompson and William Rowe of Royal Doulton, and dating from the beginning of the twentieth century. They were intended to decorate the children's wards of St Thomas's Hospital, London, but can now be seen in the south wing corridor which connects the children's with the adult's wards. According to Judy Rollins, the series marks the transition "from adult to children's in-patient hospital services" (125).
In Perrault's well-known fairytale, a younger son receives only a small inheritance from his father — a cat. But this cat is very crafty, and serves his new master well. He asks him to strip off his clothes and bathe in the river, exactly when the royal coach is passing, and then pretends that his master's clothes have all been stolen. After this scene, the king has him dressed in splendid clothes, and the princess, his daughter, falls in love with him. More machinations lead to the happy-ever-after marriage of the young man and the princess at the end.
Seen in the second panel is the cat with some of the gifts of wild prey (a rabbit, for example, on the far left) with which he (on his master's behalf) had plied the king, in order to present him as well-heeled, and a suitable future son-in-law.
Other fairytale panels made for the children's wards at the hospital include Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Little Bo-Peep and The Babes in the Wood.
Links to Related Material
Bibliography
Rollins, Judy. Purpose-Built Art in Hospitals. Bingley: Emerald Publishing, 2021.
Created 15 March 2023