THE LOOM AND SPINDLE: PAST, PRESENT, AND 
FUTURE. 
By LuTHER HOoPER. 
[With 11 plates. ] 
I. PRIMITIVE LOOMS: PREHISTORIC, ANCIENT, AND MODERN. 
The spindle and the loom, the one for twisting fiber into thread and 
the other for weaving the thread itself into cloth, are prehistoric and 
almost universal tools. 
These tools, and the methods of using them, have never been sub- 
ject to much variation, whether invented by prehistoric man, the 
skillful weavers of the ancient world, or the ingenious craftsmen of 
the primitive tribes of to-day. 
Moreover, it is not only in elementary forms of weaving that this 
similarity is found, for if the essential principles of the most modern 
spinning and weaving machinery be investigated, it will be seen that 
they are identical with those used in the most ancient times. The 
complicated textile machinery of to-day is, therefore, simply a nat- 
ural development from that used by primitive weavers of all time. 
In the present course of lectures my intention is to demonstrate the 
principles of the primitive loom and spindle, and trace their gradual 
development into the wonderful, but still far from perfect, mecha- 
nism of the modern machines actuated by steam power; also to indi- 
eate the lines along which textile machinery, in the future, is likely 
to be improved. 
In this first lecture I shall occupy the time at my disposal by a 
description of primitive spinning and weaving appliances, prehis- 
toric, ancient, and modern. 
Prehistoric examples of the weaver’s art are extremely rare. This 
is owing, of course, to the perishable nature of the materials of which 
they are composed. Few as they are, however, and consisting, as 
they do, of the merest shreds of textile fabrics, they show unmistak- 
1Canton Lectures delivered before the Royal Society of Arts, London, February 26, 
March 4 and 11, 1912. Reprinted by permission from Journal of the Royal Society of 
Arts, September 6, 13, 20, 1912. 
A large number of the illustrations are taken from Mr. Hooper's “‘ Hand-Loom weaving ” 
and are reproduced by the courtesy of the publisher, Mr. John Hogg. 
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