Machinery and other objects - from carding engines and looms to printing blocks and fabric specimens - tell the story of Britain's role in textile manufacturing from the Industrial Revolution onwards.
Textiles Machinery
1837
Machine used for covering wires with silk and cotton for electrical purposes, made by W T Henley, Whitechapel, London, England, 1837
1769
Original spinning machine, Sir Richard Arkwright and John Kay, England, 1769.
circa 1846
Lockstitch sewing machine by Elias Howe, Lowell, Massachusetts, United States, made about 1846, the first sewing machine to be brought to England from America in that year.
1857
Model, scale 1:3, of a power loom for simple plain weaving made by Messrs. Sevill and Woolstenhulme, Oldham, Manchester, England, 1857. This loom gives the most elementary kind of weaving in which weft crosses over and under the warps alternately and was the type used extensively for calico weaving. There is an arrangement for stopping the loom automatically if the shuttle does not reach its box after each pick, and if the weft should break then a weft fork device which is normally balanced to rest on the unbroken thread falls and operates cut off machinery to stop the loom.
1926
Toyoda Automatic Loom, type G, made in 1926.
1775
Improved spinning machine (water frame), by Sir Richard Arkwright, England, 1775.
1810
Old Spitalfields hand loom with jacquard mechanism.
1760-1775 probable date
Textile printing block of irregular rectangular shape, boxwood faced design with some use of metal pins; ornate column with large flowers arranged around it and probably used for soft furnishing. Made in England, probably c. 1760-1775.
Early Wheeler and Wilson hand-powered lock stitch sewing machine of a design of about 1867; this model was made around 1885.
1874
Saint's chain stitch sewing machine made from drawings contained in a patent granted to Thomas Saint in 1790, by Newton Wilson and Co., 1874.
1945-1954
Mondial hosiery repair machine, used to mend ladders in nylon, silk, and rayon stockings, made by Electric-Juwel-Werk Berlin, Germany, sold by Knitbak Service Ltd, London, United Kingdom, 1954, and used by Luigia Stefani, nee Oberti, Swindon, from 1954 to 1988
1732
Remains of the models of silk machinery introduced from Italy by Sir Thomas Lombe, Derby, England, c. 1732; the remains being: a reel, three spindles with bobbins and flyers and a segment of a circular frame, all half size.
1800-1802
Machine for winding cotton into balls, invented by Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, unsigned, United Kingdom, 1800-1802. The first machine made was used at Strutts Cotton Mill. Belper.
1730-1800
Model of a handloom (as used previous to the invention of the fly shuttle in 1733), made 1730-1800.
1976
Relief moulded decoration made by methods used for textile printing blocks
1910-1950
Child's chain stitch Singer model 20 sewing machine first introduced in 1910.
1913-1914
Willcox and Gibbs chain stitch sewing machine, c. 1914 model.
1800-1820
Model of a teasing mill, also known as a gig-mill, for raising the fibres of woollen cloth, reputed to be 18th century (scale 1:8).
1783-1784
Specimens of linen (on two sheets) dated 1783-4, with M.S. descriptions, 'Being patterns submitted for the duty of 15 per cent under the Act 24 Geo. III Chap. 40.' [Act no. 24 of George III, chapter 40] Of German and Flemish origin, unknown maker.
1886-1887
Moldacot patent lockstitch sewing machine with accessories in tin case, by the Moldacot Pocket Sewing Machine Company, London, England, 1886-1887.
1750-1830
Textile printing block, boxwood face on wooden backing with a floral design, made in England, 1750-1830.
1775-1785
Arkwright's drawing frame, commonly known as a lantern frame, England, c. 1780.
1939
Bobbin box belonging to a Northrop single-shuttle 'S' loom with automatic bobbin insertion, 1939.
1842-1858
Power loom manufactured by J. Harrison and Son, Blackburn, England and fitted with the loose reed emergency stop mechanism of 1842. Exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and subsequently modified by the makers with design changes up to 1858.
1870
Original Remington Arms lock-stitch sewing machine head: the 'Empire' model of 1870, by the Remington Arms Company, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 1870.
1862
Model of Grimston's twine-balling machine, patented in 1860.
1851-1855
Singer Lockstitch sewing machine model of 1851, by I. M. Singer and Company or the Singer Manufacturing Company, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 1851-1855
1870-1880
Brass model of power loom (scale 1:4) with improved tappet plates, patentee Bennet Woodcroft, England, 1870-1880.
1885-1886
Bobbin of artificial silk, 1885-1886.
1879-1909
Lock stitch sewing machine, by Jones Sewing Machine Company, Manchester, England, 1879-1909
1873
Model of silk doubling machine, designed and patented by Thomas Dickins, Manchester, 1873. Patent no. 1763.
1770-1785
Stocking knitting frame by Cooper Corah and Sons, Leicester, England, about 1777.
Portion of a ring spinning frame of 44 spindles (originally 400) made by Dobson & Barlow Ltd., 1926, one side of which has been converted in 1963 to the Casablancas high draft system; object is complete with spares for conversion to original state.
1865-1883
The Singer 'New Family' lockstitch sewing machine, made between 1865 and 1883.
1883
Lock stitch sewing machine head representing the final form of the Howe machine, by the Howe Machine Company, Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States, 1883 model.
1871
Grover and Baker two-thread chain stitch sewing machine, 1871, an improved version of an 1851 model.
1701-1800
French spinning wheel, iron, 18th century
1858-1862
One of five power loom shuttles, by J. Harrison and Sons, Blackburn, Lancashire, England, 1858-1862.
1833-1843
Model (scale 1:2) in iron of steam power loom, with tappet motion with spool of yarn and material in process, patentee Bennet Woodcroft, England, c. 1838.
1771-1780
Carding machine by Sir Richard Arkwright (1732-1792), England, 1771-1780. Believed to be from Cromford Mill, Derbyshire.
1851
Reproduction of Judkin's lockstitch sewing machine made by Platt Bros & Co Ltd., Oldham, Manchester, England, shown at 1851 Exhibition.
1830
Copy of Barthelemy Thimonnier's chain stitch sewing machine, first invented in 1830.
1883-1900
Wilcox and Gibbs chain stitch sewing machine, a design based on patents to 1883 complete with wooden box, c.1900.
Wooden chest for lock stitch sewing machine, by Jones Sewing Machine Company, Manchester, England, 1879-1909
1867
Model of a Jacquard loom (Scale 1:2), unknown maker, 1867.
1872
J.Weir's chain stitch sewing machine, model no. 55S of 1872.
patent 1853
Early lock-stitch sewing machine made in accordance with W.F. Thomas's patent of 1853
Two Shuttles for the weaving of narrow fabrics, such as ribbons, patentee Archibald Turner, 1858, unknown maker.
1896-1900
Six skeins and one spool of artificial silk made at Wolston, near Coventry, between 1896 and 1900.
