1838 Fairman's Patent Model of a Loom
date: label: model constructed
content: before 1838-02-06
label: patent date
content: 1838-02-06
name: label: inventor
content: Fairman, Elijah
notes: label: Description
content: Power Loom Patent Model
label: Description
content: Patent No. 595, issued February 6, 1838
label: Description
content: Elijah Fairman of Stafford, Connecticut
label: Description
content: Fairman’s improvements, consisting of an additional cam and a set of treadles, were applied to power looms in common use. His improvements allowed the harnesses to operate more smoothly and the warp to open, enabling the shuttle to pass more easily. The end result was that the loom was better suited to weaving either light or heavy fabrics. Six pages and three illustrations in Clinton Gilroy’s 1844 book, The Art of Weaving, are spent in describing Fairman’s patent. Gilroy commented that Fairman’s loom would probably work fine for simple weaves, but for fancy patterned work, requiring 10 to 100 heddle frames, it would be totally impractical.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: associated place
content: United States: Connecticut, Stafford
topic: label: classified
content: Patent Models
label: classified
content: Invention
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
label: See more items in
content: Patent Models, Textile Machinery
label: See more items in
content: Textiles
label: See more items in
content: Patent Models
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Janssen, Barbara Suit. Patent Models Index
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T11411.095
label: accession number
content: 89797
label: catalog number
content: T11411.095
label: patent number
content: 595
objectType: label: Object Name
content: loom patent model
label: Object Type
content: Patent Model
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (mechanisms material)