Name/Title
StereographEntry/Object ID
2023.055.3.0332Description
A black and white stereograph. Image is of the inside of a factory with mulitple machines, a few people are tending to. Above the image "7" is printed, below the image "V13936 - Weaving Soft Taffeta Ribbons with Priated Ware and Plain Wool, Paterson, N. J." is printed, to the left of the image "Keystone View Company Copyrighted, Underwood & Underwood, Inc. Manufacturers MADE IN U.S.A. Publishers" is printed, to the right of the image "Meadville, Pa., New York, N. Y., Portland, Oregon, London, Eng., Sydeny, Aus." is printed. On the reverse the following is printed:
V13956
WEAVING TAFFETA RIBBONS, PATERSON
Lat. 41 (Degrees) N.; Long. 74 (Degrees) W.
The United States leads the world in the manufacture of silk, and Paterson, N. J., ranks as America's leading silk city. Thie picture shows us the interior of one of the silk mills at Paterson where ribbon is being woven. this long loom requires the attention of only one man. It weaves from twenty-five to thirty ribbons at once. These taffeta ribbons, developing lovely flowers before our eyes, are being woven on warp which has already been printed. The long silk filaments are wound on the warping creel, and then run through the color printing press. The printed warp is here being fed through the upright "harness" of the ribbon loom, and as the "harness" frames lift alternately, the shuttle bearing the plain wool thread shots back and forht between the sets of wrap threads. The woven ribbon rolls off on these front rollers, showing the soft, pretty, blurred design characteristic of the better grade of taffeta ribbons.
The history of weaving is interesting, dating back to the old hand loom. In 1773 John Kay invented the fly shuttle. In 1804 the invention of the Jacquard loom further revolutionzed weaving. Since 1830 both spinning and weaving have largely been done by machinery. This machinery is being continually improved by new labor saving devices.
Paterson's silk mills have been built around the beautiful falls of the Passa River at this point. They furnish the power fro the industry in whcih she leads.
Copyright by The Keystone view CompanyCollection
Photograph Collection