Stevengraph woven silk bookmark souvenir, Chicago World’s Fair 1893

Description

Description:  Silk bookmark souvenir of the Columbian Exposition, 1893.  Very good condition with vibrant colors; missing a short blue tassel which hung from the point at the bottom.  2 ½” x 9”
Thomas Stevens
invented the
'Stevengraph'
, the pictorial bookmark, and the illuminated ribbon. In January 1862 he patented his invention for “manufacturing book markers by machinery for weaving ribbons, and . . . producing figures, designs, and mottoes thereon of various descriptions and colors, according to the nature of books for which the markers are intended”.  The specialized textile industry, where Stevengraphs and similar woven objects by other companies were produced, was located in Coventry, England.
The pictures became very popular and were exhibited at the Crystal Palace in 1868, at the London International Exhibition in 1870, at York in 1879, and in the United States. From 1862 to 1867 Stevens's catalogues contained from 500 to 900 varieties of bookmarks, pictures, fans, badges, embroidered neckties, and sashes.  Thomas Stevens improved, adapted, and refined the loom by a series of inventions so that he could produce silk pieces that have exquisite detail with what seems to be a three-dimensional effect.
In 1878 he moved to London to supervise his expanding business. By this time, he had sales agencies in New York City, Cincinnati, Leipzig, Glasgow, Dublin, and Londonderry, in addition to London. To stimulate sales at the expositions that were popular during the period of his greatest activity he sent weavers with his version of the jacquard loom to many of them. There, people could watch a piece being woven, buy it and take it home as a souvenir of the fair. Among the places he or his sons did this were the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, 1876; York Exposition, 1879; Edinburgh, 1886; Manchester, 1887; Cincinnati 1888; London, 1890;
Chicago, 1893
; St. Louis, 1904; and Paris, Antwerp, Liverpool, Bristol, Boston, Brussels, and Paris.
After winning more than 30 medals and diplomas for his work, Thomas Stevens died on October 24, 1888, in London and was buried in the family plot in Coventry. Two of his sons, Thomas, and Inger, who, before his death managed the Coventry plant, continued the business.
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