new mill containing two double-cylinder carding 

 machines." In 1813, leaving one son in charge at 

 Stonington, John returned to Montville and pur- 

 chased another factory and water privileges. He con- 

 tinued in the woolen manufacture until his death in 

 1820. 



Arthur, soon after arriving in Piltsficld, constructed 

 a carding machine and opened a Piltsficld mill. The 

 following advertisement appeared in the Pittsfield Sun, 

 November 2, 1801: 



Arthur Scholfield respectfully informs the inhabitants 

 of Pittsfield and the neighboring towns, that he has a 

 carding-machine half a mile west of the meeting-house, 

 where they may have their wool carded into rolls for 

 1 2)2 cents per pound; mixed i^'i cents per pound. If 

 they find the grease, and pick and grease it, it will be 10 

 cents per pound, and 12,'i cents mixed. They are requested 

 to send their wool in sheets as they will serve to bind up the 

 rolls when done. .Mso a small ainouiu of woolens for sale. 



The people around Pittsfield soon realized that the 

 mechanically carded wool was not only much easier 

 to spin but enabled them to produce twice as much 

 yarn from the same amount of wool. /Mthough many 

 brought their wool to be carded at his factory, Arthur 

 w^as not without problems. These were evident in 

 his advertisement of May 1802, in which he staled 

 that if the wool was not properly "sorted, clipped, and 

 cleansed" he would charge an extra penny yx"r pound. 

 He also added that he would issue no credit. Shortly 

 after this, recognizing the need for additional carding 

 machines in other localities, Arthur Sciiolfield under- 

 took the work of manufacturing such machines for 

 sale. Through this venture he was to spread his 

 knowledge of mechanical wool carding throughout 

 the country. 



The Scholfield Machines 



The first record of Arthur's sale of carding machines 

 appeared in the Pittsfield Sun in September 1803. 

 The next year, in May 1804, his advertisement in- 

 formed the readers that A. Scholfield continued to 

 card wool, and also that: 



He has carding-machines for sale, built under his im- 

 mediate inspection, upon a new and improved plan, which 

 he is determined to sell on the most liberal terms, and will 

 give drafts and other instructions to those who wish to build 

 for themselves; and cautions all whom it may concern to 



beware how they arc imposed upon by uninformed speculat- 

 ing companies, who demand more than twice as much for 

 machines as they are really worth. 



Scholfield must ha\e felt that some of his competitors 

 were charging much more for their carding machines 

 than they were worth. .Mso, others were producing 

 inferior machines that did not card the wool i^roperly. 

 Both factors encouraged .\rthur to continue the com- 

 mercial production of wool-carding machines. In 

 April 1805 he again advertised: 



Good news for farmers, only eight cents per pound for 

 picking, greasing, and carding white wool, and twelve 

 and a half cents for mixed. For sale. Double Carding- 

 machines, upon a new and improved plan, good and cheap. 



And in 1806: 



Double carding machines, made and sold by A. .Scholfield 

 for S253 each, without the cards, or $400 including the cards. 

 Picking machines at $30 each. Wool carded on the same 

 terms as last year, viz.: eight cents per pound for white, 

 and twelve and a half cents for mixed, no credit given. 



With both carpenters and machinists working under 

 his direction, he soon abandoned completely the 

 carding of wool and devoted his full time to produc- 

 ing carding machines. An advertisement in the Pitts- 

 field Sun shows Alexander and Elisha Ely providing 

 carding service there with a Scholfield machine in 

 1806. Scholfield machines were also set up in Massa- 

 chusetts at Bethuel Baker, Jr., & Co. in Lanesborough 

 in 1805, at Walker & Worthington in Lenox, at 

 Curtis's Mills in Stockbridge, at Reuben Judd & Co. 

 in Williamstown, in Lee at the falls near the forge, at 

 Bairds" Mills in Bethlehem in 1806, and by John Hart 

 in Cheshire in 1807. Subsequently many more 

 Scholfield machines were set up in many other places 

 as far away as Manchester, New Hampshire, in 1809 

 and Mason Village, New Hampshire, in about 1810. 

 One of the difficulties that Arthur encountered in 

 building these early machines was in cutting the 

 comb plates that freed the carded fleece from the 

 cylinder. These ]ilates had to be prepared by hand, 

 the teeth being cut and filed one by one. In 1814 

 James Standring, an old frieitd and co-worker, 

 smuggled into this country a "teeth-cutting machine," 

 which he had procured on a trip to England.'^ Stan- 

 dring kept the machine closely guarded, permitting 



" There is no record of the carding machine made of ma- 

 hogany which John's sons reported had been transferred to the 

 Stonington mill. 



'- This is probably the iiiachiiic that gave rise to stories of 

 a carding machine having been smuggled from England during 

 the early Byfield days. J. E. A. Smith, Thi: hislory of Pilhfietd, 

 Massachusetts, Jrom the year 7S00 to the year 1876, Springfield, 

 1876, p. 167. 



12 



BULLETIN 218: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM Ol' IIISTOR^- AND TECHNOLOGY 



