Late 19th Century Antique English Cotton Bolt Stamp, Finished Fabric Stamp

Fabulous piece of history. This is an antique late 19th century hand printing block made in England. Copper coils were inserted into a wood block in a design representing the textile company selling bolts of cotton fabrics. This block is marked J. Wild Bolton, which signifies the J. Wild Company in Bolton, UK. These are usually dated to the Victorian time period, late 19th century to around 1900. This block pictures a shield between laurels and has a tiny ship with masts at the top of the banner.
From the Bolton Museum and Art Gallery: “J. Wild, (was) a firm which specialised in making colourful stamps known as “bolts” which marked the maker of a roll of cloth….Bolt labels, also called tickets, were stuck to the ends of bolts of cloth. The labels acted as a sort of trademark or brand, identifying a particular producer or merchant… Each label was designed specifically for the market it was sent to. The ticket was supposed to catch the eye of the shopper, and often employed various symbols which today can be baffling at first glance. The stamps were made from sycamore with inserted copper strips. The blocks took about two weeks to make. “

Equipped with an eye ring on the back so it could hang on the wall, or would make a lovely accessory in a styled bookcase on vignette.

Measures: 6.5″ x 6.5″ x 2″ d