Collection: For All the Years Ahead
A collection of new baby girl gifts to keep for life
Most gifts given at birth belong naturally to the first months of a child’s life. For All the Years Ahead takes a longer view. It is a collection of limited-edition Thackray silk scarves chosen at the beginning of a girl’s life, kept safely by her family and intended for the woman she will become.
The giver selects an original artwork from the collection. The recipient’s full name and the scarf’s individual edition number are then printed discreetly upon the silk, while a corresponding Thackray record preserves the artwork, its recipient and the person who chose it for her.
Each piece begins as a gift for a newborn, but its meaning is allowed to mature. Years later, she receives an adult silk scarf that has carried her name through the years before she was old enough to wear it.
The first heirloom of her own
An heirloom usually comes from a life already lived; this one begins alongside hers. The chosen scarf belongs to the child from the day it is given, although her family may remain its guardian until an eighteenth or twenty-first birthday, a graduation, a wedding or another moment that feels right. There is no prescribed occasion for the second giving. Its significance lies in everything that has happened since the first.
For All the Years Ahead offers a choice of Thackray artworks, each with its own colours, figures and story. The giver may be drawn to a particular design because of something within it, or simply because it feels right for her. Nobody can know the woman’s future taste, nor should the gift attempt to predict it. What endures is the judgment and affection with which the artwork was chosen.
The collection is intended for parents, grandparents, godparents and others whose place in the child’s life matters. Their name is preserved with the scarf, becoming part of its history. Many years later, when she unfolds the silk for herself, she will know not only that the piece is hers, but who was thinking of her future when her life had only just begun.
Inscribed for her and recorded by Thackray
The recipient’s full name is printed upon her chosen scarf together with its individual edition number. The original Thackray artwork remains unchanged; the inscription is discreet, giving that particular piece a permanent identity without interrupting the integrity of the design.
A printed Thackray record bearing the house emblem accompanies every piece. It documents the recipient’s name, the title of the artwork, its edition number, the name of the giver, the date commissioned and its individual archive reference. The giver may also include their relationship to the recipient and a short private dedication.
To arrange the inscription, choose and purchase a scarf from the collection, then email enquiries@thackrayofengland.com with the order number and the recipient’s full name, written exactly as it should appear upon the silk. If her name has not yet been decided, the scarf may be purchased first and the inscription supplied later. Thackray will confirm the wording before the piece is prepared.
A collection of rare silk artworks
Every design within For All the Years Ahead is issued in a declared limited edition. Once an edition has sold, that artwork is retired and never reprinted. The number upon each scarf establishes its place within this finite body of work; the inscription and accompanying Thackray record establish its original ownership.
The scarves measure 90 × 90 cm and are designed in England. Each is produced in 100% mulberry silk at a substantial 18-momme weight and completed with hand-rolled hems. These are the proportions of an adult silk square, made to be worn around the neck, over the shoulders or in the hair. It may also be framed as textile art, preserved within a collection or eventually passed into another pair of hands.
No responsible house can promise the future financial value of an object. Thackray can promise the conditions upon which genuine rarity depends: original artwork, a finite edition that will not be repeated, individual numbering and provenance recorded from the beginning. Its personal value begins much earlier. By the first time she wears it, the scarf may already have belonged to her for twenty years.
Kept for the life ahead
These scarves are birth heirlooms rather than accessories for infants. The chosen piece should be kept clean and dry in its presentation box, supported by white, unbuffered acid-free tissue suitable for silk. It should be stored away from direct sunlight, damp and excessive heat, and inspected annually with clean, dry hands. The Thackray record should remain in its own compartment within the box.
One day, a woman will open that box and find an artwork chosen before anyone knew her character, her taste or the direction her life would take. Her name will appear upon the silk, beside her place within its edition; the accompanying record will tell her who placed it there. For All the Years Ahead is a collection of rare silk artworks created to make that future moment possible.
Questions about For All the Years Ahead
What is For All the Years Ahead?
It is a collection of limited-edition Thackray silk scarves created as lifelong gifts for newborn baby girls. The giver selects an artwork, which is inscribed with the recipient’s full name and individual edition number.
What is printed upon the chosen scarf?
The recipient’s full name and the scarf’s individual edition number are printed discreetly upon the silk. The original artwork is not changed.
How do I provide the recipient’s name?
Purchase the chosen scarf and email enquiries@thackrayofengland.com with the order number and full name exactly as it should appear. If the name has not yet been decided, it may be supplied later.
What accompanies each scarf?
Each piece comes with a printed Thackray record documenting the recipient, giver, artwork, edition number, date commissioned and archive reference. A short private dedication may also be included.
Can a newborn baby wear one of the scarves?
No. The scarves are presented at birth as heirlooms for adulthood and should be kept safely by a parent or guardian until the recipient is old enough to receive hers.
Is this suitable as a gift from a grandparent or godparent?
Yes. The collection is particularly suited to grandparents, godparents and close relatives because the giver’s name and relationship to the child can be preserved with the chosen piece.
Could the scarves become collectable?
Their original artwork, limited editions, individual numbering and documented provenance give them the attributes of collectable pieces.