The evening times., 1902-07-10
CENSUS BULLETIN IN
HISTORY OF NEEDLE
Evolution From a Bone AWl
to Present Perfection
EARLY BRONZE SPECIMENS
Steel introduced in the Dark Ages.
Brought Into Europe by the MooIS.
Art Lost in England for Time in the
Sixteenth Century.

The evolution CT the needle is treated
of in a very Interesting fashion By an
expert Of tho Census Bureau in its nee
die bulletin
Matchmaking was one Of the first
arts practiced by man, and dates back
to the remote period when our priIni-
tive ancestors first were struck with
The brilliant idea Of shaping clothing to
their bodies. The relics Of early peo-
pies, civilized and uncivilized, bear
evidence of the use of needles made Of
various materials. Some excellent spec
linens made Of fish bone, horse bone,
and bronze have been found in caves
near BruzeQucl. France. and on the
sites Of the ancient lake dweIIeFs Of cen
traI Europe In the tombs of the an
cfcnt Egyptians and of the early Sean
dinavians bronze needles varying in
length from two end q half to eight
inches have been found
This material vas for centuries the
chief one used in needle making by the
people Of Europe and western Asia, as
it was easily worked.
Steel introduced by the MooTs
1t was in the Dark Ages that steel
needles superseded those Of bone, ivory,
and bronze. The steel needle was intro
duced IN Europe by the Moors at the
time of the Saracen invasion, but it is
Tot probable that these people we're the
inventors. since the Chinese claim to
have used steel needles from time i'm
memorial. Gradually the industry
spread from Spain, the home Of the
Moorish artilcers, to France and Ger
many. and in the year 1870 steel needles
we're made at Nuremburg. Germany,
whose artisans at that time were more
skilled in working metals than those Of
any other European nation.
Probably the first man to manufac-
ture this article IN England was a
Spanish Moor, who. some time between
1913 and 1913. made and sold needles at
Cheapside England He moved his
shop, a few years later. to White
chapel.
Art Lost for a Time.
he had never communicated to anyone
the knowledge he was supposed to
possess. the manufacture of steel nee
dies in England ceased for a time with
his death It was next taken up in that
country by Elias Grouse, German, Who,
some time during the reign OF Queen
elizabeth. taught EngIishmen how 10
.aake Spanish" needles
A few years later this manufacture
was given an impetus by Mr. Hum
phrcys, Of Saxony. who brought to Eng
I land twenty-five Saxon workmen skilled
/ in drawing steel into the kind OF wire
| essential TO needle manufacture The
+! industry. however. did not attain much
! Importance until 1850, when a Mr.. De-
mar, with Mr.. Christopher Greening.
! began the manufacture on small
/ scale at Long CTendon. in Buckingham
shire From this time the industry
! gradually spread to neighboring towns
and counties, where needle manufac-
/ ture has been brought during the past
two centuries to its present degree OF
perfection, and where the bulk OF the
com ron hand-sewing needles Hsed IN all
countries are made
Was at First Only an Awl.
Ii its primitive pattern, the needle
was an asI-shaped instrument, which
merely perforated he materials meant
to be fastened together, along their
edges. SO that they could be laced to
gether by ha nd As the use OF this Eeo-
die involved two operations, 1t was soon
displaced by q neelle which had a cir
cular depression near the blunt end for
holding the thread, and thus did away
with the lacing operation. Since this
needle. though 1t did well enough for
coarse work, was inadequate for fine
work. the needle with the eye was in
troduced.
Since the introduction of the steel
needle the model has remained the same
and progress in the art of needle making
has been confined to devices for perfect
ing the material used and the methods
of construction In the early days OF
needle manufacture, when the trade was
practiced at home or in small shops
the materials ind devices were very
crude. After the manufacture Of the
needle was started in plants provided
with conveniences and facilities for its
production. improvements were slowly
introduced in performing the different
operations.