The Spinning Wheel

Woven at bottom of silk:-

woven in silk

BROCKLEHURST-WHISTON

Macclesfield

Printed at bottom of card mount:-

Card mount:
20.0 cm deep by 25.0 cm wide

silk:
8.0 cm high by 14.0 cm wide

by Lewis Cowen:
This 1948 picture, THE SPINNING WHEEL, was described in some early technical details as 'The Handloom Weaver' and was available by Christmas. Whilst no legend accompanies the picture, the relevance of the subject is quite obvious.

No picture was marketed in 1949 as the company designers were too busy to find the time to draft and cut cards. Later years were also to be missed for the same reason. Nevertheless the year 1949, and 27 June in particular, was an important one in the history of the company when they received a visit from Their Royal Highnesses Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Amongst the many employees presented to the Royal visitors were the weaving manager Harry Hulme and Miss Lilian Leah. The latter had been a silk weaver for 60 years and had received the British Empire Medal for services to the silk industry. She had been responsible for weaving this silk, and the 'HOUSE OF BROCKLEHURST' in 1947, the second picture to be produced by BWA.

As a matter of interest, the material for the Princess's wedding dress was made at the Hurdsfield factory.

Other comments:
This silk picture was also issued as a calendar, as well as the picture. Below is an image of just such a calendar.

The card mount is a brown colour, and it is these brown mounts which define the original issue of this silk picture. Several years later BWA realised their pictures were being bought as collectors items, and they seem to have reissued all the early ones mounted in a white card mount (as the main image above). It is probable however that the silks of these white reissued pictures came from the original weaving.

Godden records this silk under the title 'The Handloom'.

image of this silk as a calendar