Published by Stevengraph Works, Coventry, 1880
Seller: Tavistock Books, ABAA, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Godden §3, ca 1880. Lifeboat image has 3-D aspect, and is in 6 colors. Rear cover advert with woodcut image of the Stevengraph plant. Oblong format. Ribbon: 2" x 5-7/8". Matte: 5-5/16" x 8" In the mid-19th C, the town of Coventry, England, was the centre of a ribbon weaving industry. Thomas Stevens, a local weaver, adapted Jacquard looms to weave colourful pictures from silk. By 1862, Stevens could produce four different designs. Business boomed and Stevens acquired two larger factories; by 1875 he was calling his product the "Stevengraph", named after himself. He exhibited internationally in America, France & Holland, winning some 30 medals & diplomas. In 1878 Stevens moved to London and began to mount his Stevengraphs as framed pictures - by the late 1880s Stevens had over 900 different designs. [Wiki]. Ribbon - bright & sharp, VG+. Matte frame - split top half of the publisher's frame, with old tape repair on recto. Good only. Colorful woven silk ribbon framed by publisher's drab stiff-stock paper matte (Type B1), with publisher info/advert to recto [Seventeen-title label]. Now housed in a clear archival mylar sleeve.
Published by Stevengraph Works, Coventry, 1900
Seller: Tavistock Books, ABAA, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
A stunning silver & black weave. Image: 10" x 8-1/2". Overall: 11-3/4" x 10". No manufacturer's mount. In the mid-19th C, the town of Coventry, England, was the centre of a ribbon weaving industry. Thomas Stevens, a local weaver, adapted Jacquard looms to weave colourful pictures from silk. By 1862, Stevens could produce four different designs. Business boomed and Stevens acquired two larger factories; by 1875 he was calling his product the "Stevengraph", named after himself. He exhibited internationally in America, France & Holland, winning some 30 medals & diplomas. In 1878 Stevens moved to London and began to mount his Stevengraphs as framed pictures - by the late 1880s Stevens had over 900 different designs. [Wiki]. This Stevengraph [by Stevens?] celebrates the 1900 Paris World Fair, depicting the US Pavilion, which was designed by Charles Coolidge. This an unusually large size Stevengraph, much larger than the bookmark format [et al] usually seen. Not in LeVan Baker catalogue, nor found in Godden's work, Stevengraphs and Other Victorian Silk Pictures. Tape (?) discolorations at cloth margins, in one spot [top center] just touching the outer edge of the primary image, otherwise confined to margins. Now housed in a clear archival mylar sleeve.