by Austin Sprake:
"Iroquois, winner of the Derby 1881, owned by P. Lorillard, Esq., ridden by F. Archer." A fine picture in full colours, blue sky, green grass and deep chestnut horse.
Mount 13 1/2inches by 10 inches; silk 8 1/2inches by 3 3/4inches.
It is found with Archer in two different racing colours:
STG161 - Red body; black-and-white sleeves; white cap.
STG162 - Red body; red-and-black sleeves; black cap.
Usually found without any Stevens' identification but has been seen with the name 'Stevens' impressed on the mount.
Note: The picture is believed to have been made for advertising purposes to publicise the "Iroquois" brand of tobacco.
by Geoffrey Godden:
This fine silk shows the racehorse Iroquois in full stride, with Fred Archer up. This horse, owned by P. Lorillard, won the Derby in 1881 - information which is printed on the card-mount (see above). There is no credit to Thomas Stevens under the picture, and examples handled by me do not have a back-label. Nevertheless, on the evidence of quality, there can be no doubt that this is a true Stevengraph - surely one of the most imposing action pictures ever woven in silk. In fact, I regard this as the best Stevengraph ever produced.
Two slight variations have been noticed, in one of which, Fred Archer's cap is white and his sleeves black and white.
In the other, the version illustrated above, the cap is black and the sleeves red and black. The card size should be 13 3/4inches by 9 3/4inches.
Some examples have advertisement material relating to the Iroquois brand of tobacco, and silks complete with this are of extreme rarity [see st360 on this site].
A major, and extremely rare, variation occurs without the normal fencing at the far side of the course. The position of the front hooves and the shape of the tail also differ (see st356 on this site).
Other comments:
This silk picture is extemely rare, and very few examples have been seen.
There are however variations in colour which are not recorded here.
