662 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1914. 
At that time, in England particularly, the condition of the textile 
craftsman, of whatever grade, seems to have been better than at any 
other period of which we have record. 
The weaver of the eighteenth century was a prosperous and respec- 
table tradesman, whether working in the secluded country village, in 
the suburbs of the great towns of the north and east, or near the 
metropolis in the pleasant district of Spitalfields, notable as the silk- 
weaving quarter of London. 
This happy condition of the weaver in the eighteenth century de- 
clined to one of misery in the nineteenth. The economic causes of 
this change are not far to seek, but form not part of my subject. I 
only refer to this period of prosperity, as it marks an important 
stage and change of direction in the development of the loom. 
Hitherto the motive of inventors was to increase the scope and per- 
fection of the loom, as a pattern-weaving tool. The perfection at- 
tained and the care bestowed on loom construction are shown in the 
beautiful illustrations of Diderot’s Dictionary and other technical 
works of the period. 
During the latter portion of the eighteenth century, and since, the 
chief purpose of invention has been, not excellence of work and ex- 
tended capacity of the loom, but economy of time and cheapening of 
production. 
The interesting business of weaving, from the tying up of the 
design to the picking and finishing of the woven cloth, which the 
weaver originally did himself, is now divided up amongst half a 
dozen “ hands,” who only do one particular portion of the work, and 
thus monotonously perform their daily task. 
Not only is the weaver’s work to a certain extent degraded, but 
the change from wood to iron for loom construction and the use 
of steam as a motive power, as well as the subdivision of labor, have 
necessitated the grouping of looms in large factories, with all their 
inconveniences and attendant evils. 
This revolution of industry occupied more than a century and a 
half and was effected in some branches of the trade sooner than in 
others. The process is, in fact, in the best branches of silk weaving, 
still going on. 
The first indication of the coming change in the broad-weaving 
trade was given as early as 1687, when Joseph Mason patented a 
machine which he described as “an engine by the help of which a 
weaver may performe the whole work of weaving such stuffe as the 
ereate weaving trade of Norwich doth now depend on, without the 
help of a draught-boy, which engine hath been tryed and found out 
to be of greate use to the said weaving trade.” 
It is necessary to the understanding of the mechanism of the im- 
portant machine which superseded it, which I shall presently fully 
