Cloth Seal, Clothier's Seal, Tiverton, William Lewis

Cloth Seal, Clothier's Seal, Tiverton, William Lewis, Image & Found by Adriaan Wagemakers.
Found in the Netherlands, 21mm.

22 // scallop / WL in rope border

A seal from the Tiverton clothier William Lewis (trading c 1694 to 1748), Evans Type* 2.1.4 (initials, one scallop). Other examples of this clothiers' seal are shown in Fig.3 p.398, Maunder, P., Tiverton Cloth: The Story of the Town's Woollen Trade 1475 - 1815.
*A helpful classification system for these seals, devised by Jane Evans, can be found as an appendix to this book.

The fullest collection of Tiverton cloth seals (about thirty) is on permanent display in Tiverton Museum.