Old Spitalfields hand loom
Old Spitalfields hand loom with jacquard mechanism.
Old Spitalfields hand loom for silk weaving, c.1840, fitted with Jacquard machine, c.1825, made by Guillotte, complete with lamp
The Jacquard loom, developed by Joseph Marie Jacquard (1752-1834) in 1804, enabled a loom to weave patterned cloth. This is a hand loom, the Jacquard mechanism being hand-operated to select the healds to be raised or lowered once the operator presses the treadle to form the thread. The Jacquard mechanism most likely dates to the period 1820-1834, and was made seperately to the loom itself, which is circa 1840. The loom, which has 400 needles, was given to the Museum by Messrs Warner and Sons in 1914 when the firm was at the height of its activity at New Mills at Braintree in Essex.
Old Spitalfields hand loom with jacquard mechanism.
Loom shears, cards, woven cloth sample and three wooden reels from Spitalfields loom, by Bamford Co., Macclesfield, Cheshire, England.
Parts from the Spitalfields hand loom, including the pedal lock, Bamford Co., Macclesfield, Cheshire, England.
Bobbin rack, from Jacquard loom, patented in 1804, by Joseph Marie Jacquard