Jake Kilrain

Woven on silk:-

Printed at bottom of card-mount:-
WOVEN IN PURE SILK BY T. STEVENS, COVENTRY. 
JAKE KILRAIN. 
 

Card-mount:
cm deep by cm wide

silk:
cm deep by cm wide

by Sprake:
 

by Godden:
The achievements of this American boxer are to be found in many record books - one of the historical facts being that, in 1889, against John L. Sullivan (so494), he fought the last bare-knuckle fight to be held in America.

This rare Stevengraph portrait silk shows the boxer standing facing right in fighting pose - with bare fists.
The title is in the rustic-style, which was seemingly reserved for the short series of boxer-silks, and it is first listed on label 23+34a of 1888.
The back-label is often of story type.

Other comments:
back label of this silk portrait: