Stephenson & Agar engravers, 1847. Engraved glazed card printed in black, 112 x 155 mm. descriptive identifying text in ink on the reverse. This ticket numbered 247 in ink. George Wallis [1811- 91] was the first Keeper of Fine Art of the Kensington Museum [later the Victoria and Albert Museum], from 1858 to shortly before his death. Prior to that he was headmaster at Spitalfields School of Design and The Manchester School of Design and The Birmingham School of Design. In 1847 Shakespeare’s birth place was sold by auction to a combination of two fund raising committees even though they had not sufficient funds for the purchase. A series of fund raising readings and performances, including a number in London featuring Charles Dickens, managed to raise most of the shortage and eventually the committees took out a bank loan for the remaining £500 necessary. Today the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust owns and administers the building.