Herbert & Fils Woven Paisley Shawl with Woven Signature, 1855

"Frederic Hebert set up a shawl manufacturing business in 1815 and was an innovator in new methods of shawl production. He promoted the Jacquard attachment, twill-tapestry weaving with his shawls imitating the Indian style. Hebert formed a new company Frederic Hebert & Cie with his son Emile in February 1851, at 13 rue du Mail, Paris. Hebert's design studio was run in the 1850s and 60s by Monsieur Claverie. In 1852 they registered the trademark H. Cashemire Pur. The H appears under a mehrab or prayer arch. By the 1860s only the C & P remain with the small os under a curving line. Frederic retired in 1855 and Emile took over the firm, around the time this shawl was woven. With Emile's knighthood of the Legion of Honour in 1863, the firm produced a gold stamp for the back of their shawls with Seule medaille d'Honneur, 1840 EFH 1863. The dates refer to when the father and son were awarded the honour. The Heberts business closed in 1867 but are regarded as among the top four Parisian shawl makers."
- The above text is from Meg-Andrews.com who sold a similar shawl. The credit for this text is: Cashmere. A French Passion 1800-1880 Monique Levi-Strauss p 197-239.

A similar shawl with the same 1855 stamp, can be found here (https://www.etsy.com/listing/888115249/antique-long-shawl-paisley-1855-worlds).

Link to a Herbert & Fils shawl in the Victoria & Albert Museum: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1171818/shawl-frederic-hebert/shawl-fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric-h%C3%A9bert/

Woven rectangular shawl in a complex paisley design in multicolored thread, mostly in red, and with a center in black. The signature of the weaver is woven into the fabric in the black center. The two short edges are raw with fringe.

Please note that the main image of the shawl is a made from combining two images together as the shawl is larger than our photo area. We photographed the bottom half and then the top half and combined those two images together digitally.

Stamped label in gold-tone on reverse: Seule Medaille D' Honneur / 1855 / E. F. H.

Approximate Measurements:
59.5" W x 134" L

Property of an Elegant Lady

This lot is located in Chicago.