This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/27/2010
Thomas Stevens was one of the foremost of a group of silk weavers in Coventry, England, in the mid- to late-1800s, and his products are highly cherished by collectors in America as well as Great Britain. The history of the Coventry weavers is fascinating, and can be explored by those interested by visiting stevengraphs.com or by consulting any number of books devoted to the subject of silk weaving. The offered piece hails from the later period of Stevens' endeavors, when he had expanded his business of weaving bookmarks, ribbons, greeting cards and numerous other novelties including images of sporting events to present his wares in a new form: mounted pictures. This period of production lasted only from 1878 until his death in 1888. An interesting quandary has surfaced during the course of our research for this particular item. While the frame bears the title "The First Over," the actual silk weave is most certainly one that Stevens' deemed "The First Innings," as "The First Over" is an entirely different piece that features scenes from a cricket match. One can't help but wonder if this is antique tapestry is not one of the first to appear in Stevens' new mounted picture format, with perhaps an errant placing into the frame at his Coventry or London factory. In any case, what is abundantly clear is the fact that this is an extremely rare and delicate piece of archaic craftsmanship that was painstakingly created by hand and loom, certainly not mass-produced by anything remotely close to today's standards. While the antiquated materials of the inner mount have succumbed to age-induced cracks in a few locations, the actual silk masterpiece remains entirely unblemished and intact, displaying the multitude of bright colors and unparalleled detail that the master silk weaver bestowed upon it nearly 13 decades past. The caption printed on the mount directly beneath the silk reads: Woven in Silk by Thomas Stevens, Inventor and Manufacturer, Coventry and London, (Registered). This is without a doubt one of the most unique and esoteric items we have offered in some time, and represents a singular opportunity to procure an incredibly vintage representation of the game of baseball.