Weaving Taffeta Silk Ribbons, Paterson, N.J.

Weaving Taffeta Silk Ribbons, Paterson, N.J.

Categories
Special Collections > Keystone Slides
Type
tiff scanned file from original glass slide
Description
Silk ribbons are woven in the same fashion as broadgoods. The chief difference is due to the narrower width of ribbons. On one loom from 20 to 30 ribbons may be woven at the same time. The warp is placed on a beam that is only a large spool in size. The threads of the woof are shot through the warp by a shuttle only a few inches long. Each ribbon has its own shuttle. The view shows clearly how weaving is done. You can see the warp coming through from the beam to the extreme left. You can also see the threads of the warp separated so the shuttle can pass through. How many ribbons do you count on this loom? When the ribbons are woven, they are wound into rolls. These you see at the foot of the loom. Paterson manufactures more silk than any other city in the world. It is a city of 125,000 people. It early became a factory center because of the falls of the Passaic River. The water power was harnessed; and the nearness of a good market and a fine harbor caused the silk industry to flourish. Much silk is manufactured in many cities of New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. The largest silk factory in the world is at South Manchester, Conn. The many miles of this factory have 36 acres of floor space, and employ nearly 5,000 workmen. It uses about $4,000,000 worth of raw silk every year. The United States easily leads all other countries in silk manufacture. We have about 900 factories. The annual payroll of the workers in these factories is about $4,000,000. In 1915 they imported raw silk valued at $30,000,000. In the same year we also imported $25,000,000 of manufactured silks. Keystone ID: 22112 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.
Rights
Copyright by the Keystone View Company. The original slides are housed in McConnell Library's Special Collections.