Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

STEVENGRAPH, BOOKMARK

Date Range From

1875

Date Range To

1885

Materials

SILK

No. Pieces

1

Length

19

Width

4.1

Description

WHITE WOVEN RIBBON, WITH RED, BLUE, GREEN, AND YELLOW THREAD. YELLOW TASSEL AT BOTTOM. READS IN CALLIGRAPHY: "A TRIBUTE OF AFFECTION WORDS' UTMOST ELOQUENCE WOULD FAIL MY FAITHFUL LOVE TO PROVE; THEN LET THIS LITTLE EMBLEM TELL, MY CONSTANCY IN LOVE." PURPLE AND WHITE FLOWER IN CENTER, WITH GREEN LEAVES AND VINES. PATTERN AT BOTTOM OF RIBBON INCLUDES CREST SHAPE WITH FLEUR-DE-LIS AT TOP, AND A TULIP AT EITHER SIDE. BOTTOM CORNERS OF RIBBON FOLDED BACK TO FORM POINT, AND READ "T. STEVENS COVENTRY". UNMOUNTED.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

DECORATIVE ARTS

History

BELONGED TO DONOR'S FAMILY. WOVEN BY THOMAS STEVENS OF COVENTRY, ENGLAND. STEVENGRAPHS DATE BACK TO THE 1860S, WHEN THE LIFTING OF IMPORT RESTRICTIONS ON SILK AND RIBBONS WIPED OUT THE DOMINANT INDUSTRY OF COVENTRY. WHILE THOUSANDS HAD TO EMIGRATE, STEVENS REMAINED, AND EVOLVED TECHNIQUES WHICH MADE IT POSSIBLE TO WEAVE SILKEN MINIATURES BY PROGRAMMING THE LOOM WITH CARDS. ALTHOUGH TENS OF THOUSANDS WERE PRODUCED BETWEEN 1862 AND 1914, PLUS A FEW UP TO 1939, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF DESIGNS WAS ONLY 188. IN 1940, THE COMPANY'S PRODUCTION MANAGER TOOK A SAMPLE BOOK CONTAINING EVERY DESIGN, HOME FROM THE FACTORY. THE SAME NIGHT, THE COVENTRY AIR RAID DEMOLISHED THE STEVENS PLANT. THE COLLECTION OF SAMPLES IS NOW IN THE CITY'S MUSEUM. *UPDATE* IN 2018, COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT ELISE PUNDYK CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF BOXED TEXTILES AND ACCESSORIES, INCLUDING A BELT BUCKLE DONATED BY AGNES BAINES (NEE GIBSON). LETHBRIDGE HERALD RESEARCH INDICATES THAT BAINES WAS BORN ON 20 JANUARY 1912 IN CARSTAIRS, ALBERTA. HER SIBLINGS WERE MILDRED BOS, JEAN MORGAN (D. 2000 IN EDMONTON, AB), ROBERT GIBSON, AND A BROTHER WHO PASSED AWAY AS AN INFANT. SHE MARRIED AL BAINES ON 31 DECEMBER 1941. BAINES’ OBITUARY STATES THAT THE COUPLE RESIDED IN LETHBRIDGE FROM 1945 ONWARDS. SHE PASSED AWAY ON 3 AUGUST 1999 AT THE AGE OF 87 YEARS. HER HUSBAND, AL BAINES, WAS BORN IN LUNDBRECK, ALBERTA IN 1909. ACCORDING TO LETHBRIDGE HERALD RESEARCH, HIS FATHER CAME TO THE AREA IN 1903 TO PUT A NEW RAIL LINE OVER THE FRANK SLIDE IN THE CROWSNEST PASS, ALBERTA. RESEARCH CONDUCTED TO LOCATE THE DONOR’S NEXT OF KIN WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR MORE INFORMATION, INCLUDING LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES.

Catalogue Number

P19940026016

Acquisition Date

1994-08

Collection

Museum

Less detail