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Title

William Lee's Stocking Frame.

Authors

LEWIS, PETA

Abstract

The article traces the technical evolution of the stocking frame textile machine invented by William Lee and assesses its capabilities between 1589 and 1750. It offers information on technical drawings made by industrial spy Jean Hindret, which are said to provide the earliest and accurately dateable source available on the construction of the handframe. Denis Diderot, who published the handframe, said that he used a retrospective account of the handframe to demonstrate the genius of the inventor and to observe improvements which have been made to date. Drawings published by Diderot are described. Additions that have been made to the machine parts of the handframe include the trucks, the sley, the caster-backs and the front stops or stays.

Subjects

TEXTILE machinery; MACHINERY; ENGINEERING drawings; LEE, William; HINDRET, Jean; DIDEROT, Denis, 1713-1784

Publication

Textile History, 1986, Vol 17, Issue 2, p129

ISSN

0040-4969

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.1179/004049686793700890