The Ode by Alfred Tennyson
on the opening of the Exhibition, 1862

Woven by Charles Newsome, Coventry.

Reference Number:-  
one 4  
 
Large bookmark with words of Tennyson's poem

Words:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

pattern with "CN" intertwined 

 

 
 

Uplift a thousand voices full and sweet,
In this wide hall with earth's invention stored,
And praise th'invisible universal Lord.
Who lets once more in peace the nations meet,
Where Science, Art, and Labour have outpour'd
Their myriad horns of plenty at our feet.
  O, silent father of our Kings to be,
Mourn'd in this golden hour of jubilee,
For this, for all, we weep our thanks to thee!
    The world-compelling plan was thine,
And, lo! the long laborious miles,
Of Palace: lo! the giant aisles,
Rich in model and design,
Harvest-tool and husbandry,
Loom and wheel and engin'ry,
Secrets of the sullen mine,
Steel and gold, and corn and wine,
Fabric rough, or Fairy fine,
Sunny tokens of the Line,
Polar marvels, and a feast
Of wonder, out of West and East,
And shapes and hues of Art divine!
All of beauty, all of use,
That one fair planet can produce
Brought from under every star,
Blown from over every main,
And mixt, as life is mixt with pain,
The works of Peace with works of War.
      And is the goal so far away?
Far, how far, no man can say,
Let us have our dream to-day.
O ye, the wise who think, the wise who reign,
From growing commerce loose her latest chain,
And let the fair white-winged peace-maker fly
To happy havens under all the sky,
And mix the seasons and the golden hours,
Till each man finds his own in all men's good,
And all men work in noble brotherhood,
Breaking their mailed fleets and armed towers,
And ruling by obeying Nature's powers,
And gathering all the fruits of Peace and
crown'd with all her flowers.
 
 

image of the exhibition building

 
 
 
 
 

THE ODE BY
Alfred Tennyson
on the opening of the
EXHIBITION.
1862

 
 
  
Images of the same bookmarks, with different coloured silks:
 
same bookmark, but woven in brown silk
same bookmark, but woven in purple silk
same bookmark, but woven in blue silk
 
 
Size of Silk:

40.0 cm long by 9.0 cm wide

Alternative back-ground colours:
White
Blue
Purple
Brown
 
Comments:

by Godden:
The files of registered designs for the 1860s give information on other early manufacturers of book-markers and similar objects. On the day following the first Thomas Stevens entry - that is, on 31 May, 1862 - 'Charles Newsome, Ribbon manufacturer, Coventry' registered the design for a silk 3¾ inches wide by 11½ inches long, the subject being 'The Ode by Alfred Tennyson on the opening of the Exhibition, 1862'. It was designed or draughted by Edwin Rollason, for the woven credit 'E. Rollason Desr.' is found on these silks. The 1861 census returns show that Edwin Rollason was then aged 27 and that this master designer of ribbons employed two men and four boys.
. . . the Art Journal report of the 1862 Exhibition includes mention of the firm:

We can do but scant justice, by engravings, to the ribbons of Coventry, yet no report of the Exhibition would be complete without some examples of one of the most important manufacturers of our Country . . . . The specimens shown by the principal manufacturers; Messrs. Ratliff, Mr. C. Newsome, Messrs. J & J Cash, and Messrs. Cornall, Lyell & Webster, will safely bear comparison with those of St. Etienne. . .

Other comments:
This design was registered on 31 May 1862, although the silk itself does not contain the design registration diamond.
The silk is very large, and better described as a ribbon rather than a bookmark.
The top turn over has the words "C NEWSOME Manufr: COVENTRY E ROLLASON Desr:"

image of top turnover of this ribbon
image of top turn over of this ribbon

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This page was created on 2 February 2003
additional image, of tassle ended silk, added 23 June 2005. New improved quality image replaced both previous ones on 16 July 2018 © Peter Daws - Stevengraph-Silks