Bench micrometer made by Joseph Whitworth and Co.
Bench micrometer, made by Joseph Whitworth and Co., 1883, Openshaw, Manchester.
Although made in 1883, this machine speaks to the post-industrial decline of Manchester’s textile industry. It was originally owned by a company called Harding Rhodes & Co, Leeds, who made steel pins for the textiles industry. It came to the donor via a Bradford steel pin company (Pinco) who bought up all the assets, including this machine, from Harding Rhodes in 1984 when it closed down specifically to avoid it going to India ‘to be used against them’ when the British textile industry was failing in the 1980s. This provenance describes the waning demand for textile machinery and peripherals post 1970, and the subsequent efforts to consolidate markets and reduce the risk of international competition.
Details
- Category:
- Hand and Machine Tools
- Object Number:
- 2019-371
- Materials:
- wood (unidentified), brass (copper, zinc alloy) and steel (metal)
- Measurements:
-
overall: 317 mm x 254 mm x 292 mm,
- type:
- micrometer
- credit:
- Gift of Geoffrey Ward