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CVTreasures

Stevengraph Silk Ribbon 19th Century Seeascape NICE!

Stevengraph Silk Ribbon 19th Century Seeascape NICE!

$650.00 USD
$650.00 USD
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Called to the Rescue, Heroism at Sea Stevengraph
Original 19th Century Stevengraph

Stunning "Called to the Rescue, Heroism at Sea" Stevengraph. 6 x 2" colored silk ribbon, noted in lower margin"Woven in Pure Silk". With Thomas Stevens advertisement on verso.  Housed in it's original matting, Very Rare!

(Thomas Stevens) (1828 - 1888), was a 19th century weaver from Coventry, famous for his invention of the stevengraph, a woven silk picture. Thomas Stevens was born in Foleshill, England just to the north of Coventry, the centre of a ribbon weaving industry in the 19th century, to a relatively poor family. Stevens worked for Pears and Franklin, a local ribbon weavers in Coventry, and by 1854 had created his own ribbon firm. In 1860, however, the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty was signed; this free trade treaty introduced new competition into the industry, leading to a collapse in the local ribbon economy and a huge loss of employment in Coventry. Stevens had considerable experience of experimenting with the Jacquard loom and responded to the local recession by trying to develop new products. He had invented a way of using the programmable loom to weave colorful pictures from silk. By 1862, Stevens could produce four different designs; he attempted to appeal to the mass market, selling his products between six pence and fifteen shillings each. Some of these pictures were used for bookmarks, greetings cards and specialized products for the Admiralty. Business boomed and Stevens acquired two larger factories in turn; by 1875 he was calling his product the "Stevengraph", named after himself. He exhibited internationally in America, France and Holland, winning some 30 medals and 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. In 1888 Stevens died following a throat operation and was buried in Coventry.

Stevengraphs are pictures woven from silk, originally created by Thomas Stevens in the 19th century. They were popular collectable items during the revival of interest in Victoriana in the 1960s and 1970s.

Note: Cvtreasures stamp NOT in original piece
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