A RARE VICTORIAN GLASS LIBRARY SIGN

A great sign with great provenance.
Made by Parnall & Sons Ltd, Narrow Wine St, Bristol, for the new public Library at the Beaney in Canterbury in 1899.
This sign has been in private hands for the past 30 years. There are 2 cracks in it which happened when the sign was taken down so it was reframed in the same style as the original to protect and secure the beautiful glass.
It’s of wonderful size being over 2 metres wide.
Width 213cm. Height 54cm

The Tudor Revival Beaney Institute building was designed by architect and City surveyor A.H. Campbell in 1897 and opened on 11 September 1899 at a cost of £15,000, after Dr James George Beaney left £10,000 to Canterbury for the institute, and Canterbury City Council added £5,000 so that Beaney’s institute could accommodate the city’s existing museum and library, which was transferred to the Beaney Institute building with the added name “Royal” in 1898