Business

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. Edited by Mr. Paul Halsall for the Modern History Sourcebook.

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 industry. Edited by Mr. Paul Halsall for the Modern History Sourcebook.

Short article on the development of mechanised yarn spinning and cloth weaving on Thomas Jefferson's Monticello cotton plantation in 1812. Resources related to Jefferson.

Letter published in local newspapers by 1786 by textile mill workers in Leeds, United Kingdom, complaining about the effects of machines on the previously well-paid skilled workers. From the Modern History Sourcebook.

Letter addressed to Leeds' citizenry and published in local newspapers, written in 1791 by a committee of Leeds' cloth merchants in defence of the introduction of mechanised textile manufacture. From the Modern History Sourcebook.

Short article with descriptions of the spindles and whorls used by Scandinavian yarn spinners from 800 to 1500 CE. Author: Carolyn Priest-Dorman.

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.

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.

Smithsonian Institution's web publication of a 1976 book on the invention, development and introduction of the sewing machine, by Grace Rogers Cooper.

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 countries, starting in the 1840's.

Short history of the development of knitting machinery and technology, by Sharon Nani. Links to knitting articles and related sites.

Web site about the reconstruction of soapstone spindle whorls, metal needles and needle cases, and whalebone smoothing boards used by the Viking people to produce yarns, fabrics and garments. From Sarah Goslee's homepage about braiding and tablet weaving.

Alternative view of the history of the cotton gin as an aspect of global history and an artifact of the industrial development of Southern USA. Author: Angela Lakwete.

The history of the water powered yarn spinning frame, and Richard Arkwright's unsuccessful legal struggle to obtain recognition for his 1773 invention. From A Scrapbook of Cheshire Antiquities.

Short history of the weaving loom, from the times of the hand weaving looms, until the inventions of the Industrial Revolution enabled the invention of the foot peddle loom in Japan from which the fully automatic shuttle loom was later developed. From the Yoshida Machinery Co., Ltd web site.

Blog with multiple links to articles and information about inventors and inventions which determined the growth and industrial development of the textile industry, and were the start and driving force behind the Industrial Revolution.

History of the development of tools and equipment for yarn spinning, from the drop spindle to the spinning wheel. Author: W.J. McNabb.

Jonah Begone providing an explanation for the term gin, and a short history of the invention and social implications of the cotton gin in pre-Civil War American society.

Web site of the US National Archives providing classroom information for teachers about Eli Whitney and the patenting of the cotton gin, and the impact of his invention on the production of raw cotton. Includes copies of the original patent documents.