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Reliance Company

Silhouette, Reverse Painted with Foil, Victorian Couple on Horse & Buggy, Foil Stars, Framed, Vintage

Silhouette, Reverse Painted with Foil, Victorian Couple on Horse & Buggy, Foil Stars, Framed, Vintage

Regular price $45.00
Regular price Sale price $45.00
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  • Vintage Framed Silhouette, Reverse Painted Glass with Foil (Butterfly Wing Effect), Victorian Couple on Horse and Buggy Ride, Night Sky with Foil Stars, Picture Wall Art, Home Decor, Collectibles,  (Discontinued)
  • Made in USA
  • Vintage:  1930's - 1940's
  • Details:  Unique and very hard to find vintage image. Reverse painted silhouette using the Butterfly Wing Effect with Foil.  It features a Victorian couple out for night ride on horse and buggy, with lots of sparkly foil stars in the background.  This technique was known as a "Butterfly Wing Effect"*, a process created by applying delicate, pearlescent foil to the back of the glass.  The only company known to have done this in the USA was Reliance Picture Frame Company (RPF Co), in Chicago, however, we cannot read the mark on the back, very faint.  The frame looks like real wood, the back is cardboard.  During the 1920's through the 1950's there was an increased nostalgia for the Victorian age, and these reverse painted silhouettes became very popular. Today, silhouettes are back in style and can be mixed with other portraits, among wall plates, or displayed on their own.
  • Material:  Glass, Wood, Cardboard
  • Dimensions:  9.0 inches High x 7.0 inches Wide 
  • Condition:  Vintage - Used.  Very Good Vintage Condition. The only issues noted are on the frame and cardboard backing.  There are stains on the cardboard, frame is a little "wobbly" and has wear.   All acceptable due to age/use/wear.  Please review all pictures and make sure you love this item before purchasing, we can't accept returns.  Please remember these are ANTIQUE and VINTAGE items, they are NOT new, every effort has been made to show any scratches, wear and tear and imperfections.   

Reliance Company started in 1903 as Reliance Picture Frame Company.  Three brothers, Jim, Aaron, and Mickey Scheyer began manufacturing picture frames in Manhattan. Reliance introduced their "Butterfly Wing Effect" pictures in the 1920s and 1930s.  The artwork is a type of reverse painting on glass that uses a foil effect to mimic the iridescent look of real butterfly wings.  In 1937 they moved the company to Dover, New Jersey.  By the 1940's there were three divisions: Reliance Company, Reliance Print Company & Reliance Picture Frame Co.  In 1963, Helen Scheyer Harris, Aaron's daughter, opened "Helrick’s" a frames retail store in Dover.  Reliance was not moved to Chicago until 1990, and only the business division, Reliance Co, was moved and sold, but frames were still being made and sold in New Jersey.  We believe Helrick’s is still in business, now run by the Kane family.

*The real Butterfly Wing pictures were a decorative art form popular in the 1930's, imported from Brazil.  This was done on decorative trays and wall hangings using real butterfly wings on reverse-painted glass landscapes, used to create iridescent, pearly effects and intricate details.

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