The Association was founded in 1954 by Lewis Smith (of Irvington on Hudson, New York, USA) and a number of other individuals who were interested in silk weavings produced in Coventry in the latter half of the 18th century. The group were especially interested in the weavings of Thomas Stevens.
The purpose of the Association is to provide a forum for members to learn about and to exchange information regarding Stevengraphs (and other silk weavings).
The Association has compiled an informational archive regarding the history, origin, availability and value of Stevengraphs.
The Association maintains ties to the Alfred Herbert Museum in Coventry, The Silk Museum in Macclesfield and the Newberry Library in Chicago, USA.
The SCA publishes a quarterly newsletter that contains information regarding rare finds, prices of recent sales, items of interest for sale to purchase by members, members’ activities and other information about items from silk weavers other than Mr Stevens.
Each newsletter is eagerly anticipated by members as a source of information about the Association and Stevengraphs. In addition, members are encouraged to contact officers if they have any specific questions about Stevengraphs. The chances are that another member has an answer (or at least an educated guess!). From time to time meetings are arranged so that members have the opportunity to buy, sell or swap.
The size of member collections varies widely. Some members own only a few Stevengraphs whilst others have collections of several hundred items.
All persons interested in collecting any of the Thomas Stevens works (or related silk weavings) are welcome to join the Association.
Membership lists are sent periodically with the aim of encouraging members to make contact with each other. UK membership is currently £15.00 a year (with an email version of the newsletter) and £22.50 if posted. North America membership is $20 ($30 for the mailed newsletter) per year and there are no joining fees.
If you are interested in becoming a member and wish to receive further details and a free sample newsletter, please use the contact form link in the panel to the left. Do consider joining the Asssociation. As our founder, Lew Smith, used to say “Stevengraph Collectors are the nicest people!”