Stevengraph picture - st264: The Good Old Days

by Sprake:
A stage-coach scene with a pleasant rural background woven in.

by Godden:
This landscape Stevengraph shows a Royal Mail coach being driven by four horses. The basic picture was first issued under the title THE LONDON & YORK . . . COACH [st 420 on this site] and as such it was one of the first two Stevengraphs introduced at the York Exhibition in the summer of 1879.
Within a few months, the picture was retitled THE GOOD OLD DAYS and is so listed on label 4, which bears the registration device as issued on 14 August 1879 [although it was not actually registered on that date]. The normal versions are found affixed to type B card-mounts [the image above is of type B2], but a few very early mounts have the title printed in plain letters, not the standard fancy lettering associated with type B mounts.
A later, post-1889 issues, as above, under the same title is the same coach and horses with the addition of a winter landscape woven in the background. This variation I have designated 30a. It is to be found on type C card-mounts or, infrequently, on type E mounts [as the image]. The version with landscape is rarer than the earlier picture, above, showing only the coach and horses and, in general, it would appear that this subject sold in diminishing numbers as the century progressed, the buyers favouring the newer subjects.
This subject, in both versions, is also found with the German title "Die Gute Alte Zeit" [st 264-1 on this site].

Other comments:
The original design was registered on 14 May 1879.

It is worth putting all these different silks into order:

The silk started out as ' The "LONDON & YORK" Stage Coach ' [st420], with the credit 'Manufactured in York Exhibition, 1879 ' printed on the card-mount.
For the general public, the same ' The "LONDON & YORK" Stage Coach ' [st424] title was available, but with the credit 'Manufactured in York Exhibition, 1879 ' removed and replaced simply with ' Registered '.
The title however soon changed to ' The "LONDON & YORK" Royal Mail Coach ' [st416], and the previous credit 'Manufactured in York Exhibition, 1879 ' now being changed to ' Woven in the York Exhibition, 1879 '. Although the design of the actual silk remained unchanged, the size of the silk increased slightly, and this is evident in the size of the lead horses of these later silks.
Once the exhibition had closed, the old title was short lived, and was replaced after a few months with the completely different one of ' The Good Old Days ' [st260]. The silk remained exactly as before.
The final evolution was to change the actual silk itself to include a winter scene, as above, whilst still retaining the same ' The Good Old Days ' title. It was this final version which continued into the 20th century.

Reference Number:-	Sprake Number:-	Godden Number:-
st 264	STG188	30a

Words:	Woven on silk:- Printed at bottom of card-mount:- Woven in Pure Silk The Good Old Days.
Size:	card-mount: cm deep by cm wide silk: cm high by cm wide
Comments:	by Sprake: A stage-coach scene with a pleasant rural background woven in. by Godden: This landscape Stevengraph shows a Royal Mail coach being driven by four horses. The basic picture was first issued under the title THE LONDON & YORK . . . COACH [st 420 on this site] and as such it was one of the first two Stevengraphs introduced at the York Exhibition in the summer of 1879. Within a few months, the picture was retitled THE GOOD OLD DAYS and is so listed on label 4, which bears the registration device as issued on 14 August 1879 [although it was not actually registered on that date]. The normal versions are found affixed to type B card-mounts [the image above is of type B2], but a few very early mounts have the title printed in plain letters, not the standard fancy lettering associated with type B mounts. A later, post-1889 issues, as above, under the same title is the same coach and horses with the addition of a winter landscape woven in the background. This variation I have designated 30a. It is to be found on type C card-mounts or, infrequently, on type E mounts [as the image]. The version with landscape is rarer than the earlier picture, above, showing only the coach and horses and, in general, it would appear that this subject sold in diminishing numbers as the century progressed, the buyers favouring the newer subjects. This subject, in both versions, is also found with the German title "Die Gute Alte Zeit" [st 264-1 on this site]. Other comments: The original design was registered on 14 May 1879. It is worth putting all these different silks into order: The silk started out as ' The "LONDON & YORK" Stage Coach ' [st420], with the credit 'Manufactured in York Exhibition, 1879 ' printed on the card-mount. For the general public, the same ' The "LONDON & YORK" Stage Coach ' [st424] title was available, but with the credit 'Manufactured in York Exhibition, 1879 ' removed and replaced simply with ' Registered '. The title however soon changed to ' The "LONDON & YORK" Royal Mail Coach ' [st416], and the previous credit 'Manufactured in York Exhibition, 1879 ' now being changed to ' Woven in the York Exhibition, 1879 '. Although the design of the actual silk remained unchanged, the size of the silk increased slightly, and this is evident in the size of the lead horses of these later silks. Once the exhibition had closed, the old title was short lived, and was replaced after a few months with the completely different one of ' The Good Old Days ' [st260]. The silk remained exactly as before. The final evolution was to change the actual silk itself to include a winter scene, as above, whilst still retaining the same ' The Good Old Days ' title. It was this final version which continued into the 20th century.