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Ordinary Meeting, October 17th, 1865. 
E. W. Binney, F.R.S,, F.G.S., &c., Vice-President, in 
the Chair. 
Mr. Forrest stated that he had in his possession a very 
extensive collection of Shakespeare memorials, which he 
would gladly allow any member of the Society to inspect. 
A paper was read entitled Notes on the Origin of several 
Mechanical Inventions, and their subsequent application to 
different purposes,” by J. C. Dyer, V.P. 
1st. — Lace Making Machine. 
The bobbin net trade at Nottingham had been carried on 
by women working on cushions or lace frames until about 
the beginning of this century, when the process was super- 
seded by the lace making machine, invented by the late Mr. 
John Heathcoat, M.P. Mr. Heathcoat commenced his ex- 
periments by stretching common packing threads across his 
room for the warp , and then passing, by common plyers, the 
weft threads between the cords, delivering them into other 
plyers on the opposite side, and then, after giving them a 
sideways motion, repassing the threads back between the 
next adjoining cords, and thus effecting the intersecting or 
tying of the meshes in the same way as they were formed on 
the cushions worked by hand. His next step was to provide 
thin metallic discs to be used as bobbins ” for conducting 
the thread back and forth through the warp. These discs 
being arranged in carrier frames, placed on each side of the 
Proceedings — Lit. & Phil. Society. — Vol. V. — No. 2. — Session 1865-6. 
