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Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)Kira A. Dietz, Archivist
Permission to publish material from Coade's Lithodipyra or Artificial Manufactory Trade Card must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Collection is open for research.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Coade's Lithodipyra or Artificial Manufactory Trade Card, Ms2015-045, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Coade's Lithodipyra or Artificial Manufactory Trade Card was purchased by Special Collections in 2015.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Coade's Lithodipyra or Artificial Manufactory Trade Card was completed in October 2015.
Eleanor Coade (1733-1821) was the rare successful London business woman. She began on her own as a linen-draper, before becoming a maker of artificial stones. She ran her business from 1769 until her death in 1821, after which it continued the manufacture of Coade stone by her last business partner, William Croggon, until 1833. She worked for many architects, Robert Adam and John Nash included. Many of the buildings of London and around England today exhibit her stone, including St. George's Chapel, Windsor; The Royal Pavilion, Brighton; The Royal Naval College, Greenwich; and a large quantity was used in the the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace in the 1820s.
The collection consists of a trade card for an English builder and manufacturer of artificial stone, probably printed about 1784. The Coade stone business was started by Eleanor Coade in 1769 and operated into the 1833, later run by a business partner after Coade's death. The trade card was designed by John Bacon, R. A., who was supervisor of Mrs. Coade's factory and who modeled many of the company's figures. The illustration on the card shows the design executed in stone above the door of the company's showroom, and is composed of mythological figures.