ca. 1810 - Miner, Deming, Pierce & Co. Accelerating head Spinning Wheel
date: label: date made
content: early 19th century
notes: label: Description
content: Wool spinning wheel. A label on the head reads:"Pierce's Improved Patent Warranted Accele----el Heads,---by Benjamin Pierce, Chesterfield F---Particular care must be taken to keep---en used, they must be kept well oiled-----bands are required they must be----even. Spindles warranted cast steel." The Pittsfield Mass. Post Office provided the following information: Benjamin Pierce, Sr. came to Chesterfield in 1770. Benjamin Pierce, Jr. was born in 1777 (he later moved to Ohio), According to Bishop's History of Manufacturing (p.167). the head was patented by Amos Miner of of Marcellus, NY, but did not "attract attention until 1804, when a partnership was formed and a small manufactory, highly original and ingenious in its plan, was erected by Miner, Demming, Pierce , & Co. who the present year (1810) employed twenty hands to made weekly from six to nine thousand of the patent accelerating wheel heads. The gain of velocity, in the spindle, by the accelerating wheel, was said to be as nineteen to nine, or more than double, and the saving of labor in spinning wool said to be one third, in worsted one half, and in merino wool it was indispensable. It was also much employed for cotton and tow, and the wheel heads were extensively counterfeited in New England.""
label: Description
content: The letter "N M" are on the wheel.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Mr. David L Merkle
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T14537.000
label: catalog number
content: T14537.000
label: accession number
content: 277124
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Spinning Wheel, Wool
label: Object Name
content: spinning wheel, wool miner's head