John Shaw Tomkins, the previous owner of this watercolour, was Munnings' first patron. He was Managing Director of A.J. Caley and Sons in Norwich whose chocolate and mineral-water factory was next door to Page Bros. & Co. where Munnings worked as an apprentice lithographer. The designs that Munnings produced for Caleys while at Page Bros. were particularly popular and he won the gold and silver medal at the Crystal Palace Poster Academy in 1899
(See J. Goodman, What a Go!, London, 1988, p.36)