History
Flax and Hemp gin
Page from the Illustrated London News of November 1, 1862, with an illustration of the American flax gin developed by Sandford and Mallory, and a short description of its operation…
Medieval North European Spindles and Whorls
Short article with descriptions of the spindles and whorls used by Scandinavian yarn spinners from 800 to 1500 CE. Author: Carolyn Priest-Dorman.
Monticello: The Plantation
Short article on the development of mechanised yarn spinning and cloth weaving on Thomas Jefferson's Monticello cotton plantation in 1812. Comprehensive resources, related to Jeffe…
On Power Looms
Excerpts from an early 19th century autobiography, written by William Radcliffe, and dealing with the implications of the introduction of the power loom for the local textile indus…
Servant in the House: A Brief History of the Sewing Machine
History of the development and introduction into the industry of the sewing machine, originally published by the Smithsonian Report in 1930. Author: Frederick Lewis Lewton.
Sewing Machines: Historical Trade Literature in Smithsonian Institution Collections
From the Smithsonian Institution's Library of Historical Trade Literature, a guide to the range of materials published by and about sewing machine companies in the US and other cou…
Spindle Spinning
Article about the history of yarn spinning and the emergence of the spindle as a tool in the process. Also, fiber selection and preparation, and the technology of hand spinning and…
The Distaff
Extensive article about the history of the distaff, a tool used in the hand spinning of yarns to prevent fibers from becoming disarrayed, matted or felted, and dates back to the ea…
The Sewing Machine: Its Invention and Development
Smithsonian Institution's web publication of a 1976 book on the invention, development and introduction of the sewing machine, by Grace Rogers Cooper.
The Steam Loom
Excerpt from Richard Guest's, Compendious History of the Cotton Manufacture (1823), and dealing with the invention and application of the steam loom in the British textile industry…
Showing 20–11 of 11 results