Excerpt from The History and Principles of Weaving by Hand and by Power

The Art of Weaving forms the most extensive and im portant part of the Textile Manufactures, whether considered on account of its commercial value or for its usefulness, variety, or beauty of its products. It also calls forth a greater number of mechanical appliances and ingenious contrivances than any other Art, and is on that account alone always a source of interest to the Engineer and the Mechanician, as well as to the Manufacturer and the Weaver.

Formerly the Art depended almost entirely upon the handicraft skill of the weaver, and his contrivances were limited in their combinations to produce designs of any considerable extent. They were, also, cumbersome and complicated, and entailed an amount of labour and patience that would much astonish the weaver of the present day. But, by the introduction of the Jacquard Machine and the Power Loom during the present century, the whole system of weaving, with some few exceptions, has been changed, and practically become a New Art.

During the same period the Lace Frame has been in vented, and by the application of the Jacquard apparatus to it for the production of figured lace, it has created an entirely new and important branch of manufacture. The numerous inventions that have led to this result seem to have culminated in this admirable machine, which for ingenuity is unsurpassed in the whole range of mechanism.

Yet the Loom with its products, wherein the wealth of our Nation is folded up, and upon which we are so de pendent for personal comfort, health, and cleanliness, is far behind other important Arts and Manufactures in respect to treatises upon its varied processes. The few works that have appeared are intended for technical readers, and are either confined to certain branches of the Art or limited in extent, and do not treat upon the subject generally.

To supply this deficiency is the object of the present work, which is based upon and includes a series of Articles written for the Proprietors of Engineering.

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