We sell Stevengraphs - also Neyret, Grants, Brocklehurst Whiston and silk weavings by other manufacturers - including silk woven postcards and bookmarks. Browsers are most welcome!
about us....
We collect and we sell silk weavings. We bought our first Stevengraph in the 1960s. In the early years when we bought in auction and privately, we found we had duplicates and began to sell these to other collectors to support our own collecting habit. Over the years we have concentrated our collecting to specific items but have continued to offer a service for collectors all over the world. Although we have been offering silks for sale over the last 30 years, to keep pace with the electronic age we started this website in 2006. Our philosophy is fairly simple - we wish fellow collectors to be completely satisfied with their purchase and offer a no quibble return service. All our prices include postage - what you see is what you pay. We have extensive (but not complete) knowledge of these charming weavings - if you have any questions, please ask. We are always interested in buying individual silks or collections. For collectors old and new, please spend a little time to browse and perhaps you may find something of interest - happy hunting!
about Stevengraphs....
In the 1860s Thomas Stevens successfully adapted the Jacquard loom to produce a wide range of silk woven items, the mosy famous being STEVENGRAPHS. Stevengraphs refer to the woven silk pictures mounted in cardboard mounts. The pieces were most often sold as wall pictures. Stevengraphs sales really started in 1879, at the York Exhibition, where an operating loom produced the pictures that could be purchased by the public at one shilling each. There are approximately 160 different designs which covers a wide range of Victorian life. Stevens also produced hundreds of bookmark designs (over 900), many varieties of postcards, valentines, handerkerchief boxes, needles cases and the like. Many of the bookmarks date from the 1860s. Very few designs were issued after 1910 and production came to an abrupt halt in 1940 when the factory was destroyed during the Coventry blitz. Stevens was not the only firm to produce bookmarks and pictures (but was the most famous). Several other firms wove similar products, including WH Grant, Dalton and Barton, Welch and Lenton, Bollans and J & J Cash.
about collecting Stevengraphs....
There are Stevengraph collectors all over the world. In 1954. the Stevengraph Collectors Association was founded by Lewis Smith in the USA to provide a forum for members to learn more about and exchange information regarding Stevengraphs. Over the year the Association has compiled an informational archive regarding the history,origin, authenticity, availability, and value of Stevengraphs. Information on joining and a sample newsletter can be obtained by contacting us on this site (just leave a message on the contact page). Other information is available on websites run by SCA members as follows:
We welcome your application to join the Association. As our founder, Lew Smith, used to say "Stevengraph collectors are the nicest people".
Other links that may be helpful include:
http://members.aol.com/neyret freres/neyret.html
http://www.kensitasflowers.co.uk/
http://www.hillfields.org.uk/History/Weaving.htm
We accept UK bank cheques, US bank cheques (no additional charge), postal orders, money orders - credit cards only through Paypal.
Please contact us via the contact form if you have any questions.
Feedback on our site would be most welcome.
Mark & Liz