This bookmark does not have any weavers name or mark.
It is attributed to Stevens only because it matches a silk bookmark within the Stevens' Family Album preserved at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry.
As this Album however was put together after the destruction of the Stevens factory in 1940, based upon a samples book, there could be some concern as the the authenticity of this silk.
Any trading company would ordinarily have had copies of their competitors products for evaluation etc., and it is conceivable that some of these samples could become lodged in the samples book, if for no other reason than for immediate comparison to genuine Stevens bookmarks.
Whilst Stevens did not make many frayed end bookmarks, the style and quality of this bookmark is typical of Stevens. Until such time therefore, that this silk can be positively identified to Stevens, it is recorded here as if it were of his manufacture.
Subsequent to the donation of this image, I have been shown another silk, identical in every respect to the image above, with the addition on the reverse at the top of the marking: "J J Mannion, Chicago, Ills."
It is known that Mannion was an agent of Stevens, although it is also possible they were weavers in their own right, so there is still doubt regarding the true weaver of this item.
