The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, 1953

(being 2nd June, 1953)

Reference Number:- Sprake Number:- Godden Number:-
obk 32   not listed not listed
 

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation at Westminster Abbey

Words:
Woven on silk:-
 

Printed at top of card mount:-

E II R {beneath a crown}

Printed at bottom of card mount:-

2nd JUNE, 1953

Printed on reverse of card mount:-
CORONATION SCENE
This tapestry is designed and woven in the finest gossamer silk by Brocklehurst-Whiston, weavers in Macclesfield, England, since 1745. Four months were required to prepare the design for weaving, in which process the loom performs no less than 3,300 different evolutions. The tapestry itself contains approximately 790 stitches to every square inch.

Size:
Card mount:
17.8 cm deep by 22.9 cm wide

silk:
7.7 cm high by 14.8 cm wide

 
Technical Details supplied by Lewis Cowen:
First Sketch:    Mr Cyril Holland
(Queen):Mr William Hine
Design Draft:Mr William Hine
Card Cutter:Mr William Stubbs
Weavers:Mrs Kathleen Stubbs
Miss Elizabeth Hudson
Design No:Z.9308
Comments:

by Lewis Cowen:
Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne in 1952, and to mark her coronation the next year, BWA issued a commemorative picture, "1953 CORONATION". This was the second occasion when the subject had no tangible connection with Macclesfield, but was not to be the last.
It is recorded that when the Managing Director saw the first pictures coming from the loom, he insisted that "some picks be taken from her chest" - she had been made to look too matronly, and she was still only a girl! Furthermore, as one of the Bishops appeared to have a moustache which made him resemble Adolph Hitler, this also had to be removed.

Other comments:
The silk itself was also included in the 1977 Queen's Silver Jubilee double silk (obk88 on this site).

Whilst the silk is the same, the card mount can have different words, as in this example:
 
Same woven silk of Queen Elizabeth II Coronation at Westminster Abbey, with different card mount
Woven on silk:-
 
WOVEN IN SILK 1953
 
BROCKLEHURST-WHISTON
 
MACCLESFIELD
 

 


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This page was created on 7 September 2001 © Peter Daws - Stevengraph-Silks