History of the American card-clothing industry

HISTOEY

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY.

BY
H. G. KITTREDGE

AND

A. C. GOULD.

PUBLISHED BY

THE T. K. EARLE MANUF'G COMPANY,
WORCESTER, MASS.

1886.

Copyright, 1885,
BT A. C. GOULD.

PRESS OF

ROCKWELL AND CHURCHILL,
BOSTON.

T

PREFACE.

PORTIONS of the matter contained in the following
chapters have previously appeared in papers devoted
to the textile industry. Recognizing the value of
this, and knowing its perishable nature if recorded
only in a newspaper, the publishers have corrected
certain errors in what has heretofore appeared in
print, have made many additions, and by printing
and circulating it in book form among their friends
and customers they wish to commemorate the cen-
tennial anniversary of the existence of their Vusiness.

As the late TIMOTHY K. EARLE contributed so
much to bring the Card-Clothing Industry to its
present condition in this country, the publishers
deem it only fitting that his portrait and a slight
memoir of his life should appear in these pages.

T. K. EARLE M'F'G COMPANY.

WORCESTER, MASS., January, 1886.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
Its Early History and Inventions .... 7

CHAPTER II.

Pliny Earle and his Successors. — Record of a Cen-
tury. — The T. K. Earle Manufacturing Com-
pany 18

CHAPTER III.

Eleazer Smith. — His Efforts to Perfect the Card-
setting Machine 24

CHAPTER IV.

Amos Whittemore. — His Contribution to the Card-
Clothing Industry. — Perfection of the Card-setting
Machine . 34

6 AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY.

PAGE

CHAPTER V.

Growth of the Card-Clothing Industry, and Sketches

of Parties Engaged in its Manufacture . . 55

CHAPTER VI.

Later Inventions and Improvements in the Manu-
facture of Card-Clothing. — Varieties made . 70

CHAPTER VII.

Description of Various Processes in the Manufact-
ure of Card-Clothing. — Preservation of the first
Card-setting Machines 77

APPENDIX 85

INDEX 95

HISTOET

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY.

CHAPTER I.

ITS EARLY HISTORY AND INVENTIONS.

THE importance the card-clothing industry bears to
the textile industry of this country is manifested in the
fact that it directly contributes to the successful em-
ployment of $350,000,000 of capital which is invested
in cotton and woolen manufactures. With only three
exceptions, the industry is confined to six towns in
the State of Massachusetts ; and, although no large
foi'tunes have been amassed by those engaged in this
industry, they have in most cases been prosperous,
largely due to the fact that American card-clothing
manufacturers are, as a class, men of thrifty and
correct habits, their business requiring the greatest

8 HISTORY OF THE

care and constant personal supervision, and neces-
sitating employe's possessing the same qualifica-
tions.

The use of some instrument for carding, or pre-
paring wool to facilitate its being spun into thi-ead, has
been among the devices of man from the earliest eras
of historical record. It is doubtful if carding was
contemporaneous with spinning, for it is quite possi-
ble to spin the raw material into yarn without the
intervention of any mechanical contrivance. The
history of card clothing as we know it to-day, in its
manufacture by machinery, is scarcely a century old.
Immediately before this the making of card clothing
was the work purely of manual labor, and the substi-
tution of mechanical means did not affect the princi-
ple of construction. With the inventions in textile
machinery that rapidly followed each other in the
latter part of the eighteenth century, the necessity of
some expedient by which card clothing could be more
rapidly and uniformly made, was imperative ; without
it the ingenuity of man would have been seriously
impeded in bringing his schemes to a satisfactory
fruition. The manufacture of card clothing by ma-
chinery, before the latter part of the last century,

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 9

would not have been a necessity, and therefore it
lacked an incentive.

The fabrication of cloth by machinery which led to
our present system of manufacture, had its com-
mencement in 1738 with John Wyatt's patent of a
cotton-spinning machine.

An era of inventions now seemed to be intuitively
felt, and new appliances steadily followed one another
in progressive strides toward enlarged operations in
commercial and manufacturing enterprises. In 1743
John Kaye brought forth his fly-shuttle, which re-
ceived a new value by his son's invention of the
rising-box on the loom, in 1769. The most interest-
ing invention connected with our subject was that of
Lewis Paul, who patented, in 1748, a cylinder-card
for carding cotton, the cylinder being covered with
sheet card clothing, and this obliged further inven-
tions to dispose of the more rapid accumulation of
carded stock. The Spinning-Jenny, Throstle-Frame,
and Mule, soon succeeded, to be followed by the
Power-Loom. Inventions for converting stock into
cloth had now-assumed a practicability that demanded
some mechanical method by which the cotton used
could be more readily prepared for manufacture.

10 HISTORY OF THE

This was happily consummated by Eli Whitney in
1792, in his invention of the Saw Cotton-Gin.

The rotary card of Lewis Paul, is, in principle, the
same as used to-day in cotton-mills.

Like many others, whose creative powers have con-
tributed to the industrial progress of mankind, Paul
was not successful in his operations, and his machines
passed into the hands of a hat manufacturer of
Leominster, England, who applied them to the card-
ing of wool. The conception, the invention of Paul,
however, did not lie dormant, for in 1 760 the cylinder-
card was introduced into Lancashire, near Wigan, for
the carding of cotton. Ten years after this Sir
Richard Arkwright greatly improved the machine by
making it more automatic, in the application of a con-
tinuous feed-table, and of an additional but smaller
cylinder, known as the doffer, from which the cotton
was continuously discharged by the operation of a
vibrating comb. The practicability of this new sys-
tem was immediately appreciated, was patented in
1775, and became an important factor in the growth of
English manufacture.

The objects of carding are to detach the fibres of
the stock and la}T them parallel, and the accomplish-

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. \\

inent of these rests in the reciprocal motion of two
surfaces which are covered with short, pointed teeth,
and between which the stock is placed. It is to these
pointed teeth that we propose to devote this series of
articles.

During our Revolutionary "War communication
with foreign nations was practically at a stand-still,
and this serious interruption greatly affected our in-
dustries by making all machinery and implements
very expensive, even if it were possible to obtain
them at all. Realizing the urgency of the situation,
several of the colonies passed resolutions " recom-
mending and encouraging bounties to manufacturers
of wool and cotton cards, iron wire, etc." The making
of cards for carding cotton and wool was as much a
part of the economy of a community, as the spinning-
wheel and hand-loom. The garments of a household
were dependent on the first process which the hand-
cards gave to the raw material ; without them the
wool of the sheep and the cotton of the fields would
have remained unwrought. The significance of en-
couraging their manufacture was too apparent to the
isolated colonists ; the few small shops then existing
were inadequate to the demand, and the high cost of

12 HISTORY OF THE

materials prevented their continuance without colonial
or public assistance.

There are records of the existence of several estab-
lishments for the manufacture of cards during the
Revolutionary War. There was one at Providence,
R.I., which was conducted by Daniel Anthony. The
colony of Connecticut, fully recognizing the importance
of sustaining the card industry, and the subsidiary in-
dustry of wire-drawing, gave a substantial assistance
in the form of a loan of $1,500, in 1775, to one Nathan-
iel Niles, of Norwich, to enable him to prosecute the
manufacture of fine iron wire for card-teeth. Mr.
Niles erected buildings for the purpose, and kept his
works running till sometime after the close of the war.
The high cost of manufactured iron, as well as the
difficulty of procuring it, was particularly felt in the
supply of tacks used in the card business, and this led
Jeremiah Wilkinson, of Cumberland, II. I., a hand-
card-manufacturer, to undertake the making of tacks by
cutting them out from sheet -iron with a pair of shears,
and hammering heads on them in a vice. Among
the earliest inventions for the making of card-teeth
by machinery was that of Oliver Evans, in 1778,
a young man of Philadelphia, who was employed in

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY, 13

manufacturing card-teeth by hand. His machine
was capable of making 1,500 teeth a minute,
which was a great advance over anything ever
done before. Not meeting with the patronage and
support which he anticipated he disposed of his
machine and plans to other parties. He afterwards
devised plans for pricking the leather, and for
cutting, bending, and setting the teeth ; but these he
abandoned because of the disheartening results of
his former efforts. Others, however, took them up,
and they furnished the foundation of subsequent
patents.

The inventions of Evans are thought to have been
applied to machines used by Giles Richards, of Boston,
in 1788, who had established the hand-card business,
and erected a factory near Windmill Bridge. The
power of the mill was derived from a wind-wheel. A
machine tended by one man was capable of cutting
and bending wire in twelve hours sufficient for 240
cards, at a great reduction in cost of labor. The
factory was considered a valuable acquisition to the
industries of Boston, and was referred to with pride
by the local inhabitants. Strangers visited it, when
permitted, with more than ordinary interest, and it

14 HISTORY OF THE

was opened to the inspection of President Washington
during one of his Eastern tours, who intently watched
the mechanical operations that furnished, in the mill
and at home, employment for 900 persons in the
manufacture of 63,000 pairs of cards per annum.
Washington wrote, in 1789, of these machines as
" executing every part of the work in a new and
expeditious manner, especially in cutting and bending
teeth, which are done at one stroke."

Rude and imperfect as the machines "would be con-
sidered now, they were then the wonder of the com-
munity, in that the}' had carried the manufacture of
cards far in advance of anything ever accomplished
in England, cheapening production in the face of dis-
advantages to the extent of allowing exportation at
a profit. Mr. Richards had at one time associated
with him, Amos and William Whittemore. Mr. Giles
Richards' brother Mark carried on an extensive
business in the manufacture of cards in 1794, near
Faneuil Hall. The factories of Giles and Mark Rich-
ards and one operated by Amos Whittemore sup-
plied four-fifths of the number of cards made in the
State, sending a large portion of the production to
the Southern States. These three establishments

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 15

made 12,000 dozens of wool and cotton cards, con-
suming 35,000 tanned sheep and calf-skins, and $26,-
000 worth of iron wire, which gave employment to
over 2,000 men, women, and children. The wire was
obtained from a wire-mill at Dedham, Mass., which
was erected specially for the manufacture of wire for
cards and fish-hooks. The usual process of making
cards at this time was to take a strip of leather fifteen
to twenty inches long, by four inches wide, and rule '
it off into small quadrilateral sections. Two holes
were made at a time by a double-needled pricker, at
the intersections of the lines, and the two-pronged
staples, which had been previously bent in a machine,
were inserted into the holes, one at a time, by hand.
The second bend on the staple then being made, the
card was tacked on a board ready to be used for
carding either wool or cotton.

About the year 1784 a Mr. Chittenden, of New
Haven, Conn., devised a machine for taking the wire
from the coil, cutting it into teeth and giving them
the first or double bend. It was capable of making
86,000 teeth in an hour. It is possible Mr. Giles Rich-
ards took advantage of this machine as well as of
the plans of Mr. Evans.

16 HISTORY OF THE

In 1785 the town of Leicester, Mass., received the
foundation of its prosperity in the manufacture of
card clothing, through the enterprise of Edmond
Snow, who then commenced the making of hand-
cards which were mostly used for wool by the spinsters
of the neighborhood.

The young Republic of the United States was fully
alive to the necessity of an industrial independence
as well as a political one. The States had incorpo-
rated many of their prerogatives into a general con-
stitution governing the whole, which gave a mutual
dependence on one another. Each and every State
became sensible of the importance of inviting to our
country the skill of the Old World, and encouraging
the ingenuity of native talent. The field was open to
usefulness.

In 1789 Samuel Slater left England, and landed in
New York ; in the year following he was induced to
begin the manufacture of cotton goods by machinery,
which he did in the State of Rhode Island, thereby
originating in this country the manufacture of cotton-
cloth by mechanical power. One of his most annoy-
ing obstacles was the difficulty of procuring a supply
of properly constructed card clothing, and it was not

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 17

overcome until 1790, when he fortunateh* made the
acquaintance of Pliny Earle, of Leicester, Mass., who
had been in the hand-card business since 1786. It
was a new, untried undertaking, but Mr. Earle agreed
to make for Mr. Slater the clothing for his machines ;
and this decision gave to Mr. Earle the honor of being
the first to engage in the manufacture of machine
card clothing in the United States. The cards made
for Mr. Slater were from sheets of calf-skins, cut into
strips 18 inches by 4 inches. The teeth were made
by machinery, but the holes were pricked by hand
with a couple of needles fastened in a handle. One
hundred thousand holes were thus pricked. Mr.
Slater put the clothing on his machine, but was not
successful in making it do good work, much to his
vexation of mind and body. With his natural deter-
mination he mounted his horse and rode a distance
of forty miles to Leicester, Mass., where he found Mr.
Earle, who accompanied him back to his mill to set
things right, if possible. Mr. Earle found that the
teeth had been pressed down by too severe grinding
and hard usage ; but these he soon raised and placed
in position, which rectified the difficulty to the satis-
faction of Mr. Slater.

18 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER II.

PUNY EARLE AND HIS SUCCESSORS. RECORD OF A

CENTURY. THE T. K. EARLE MANUFACTURING

COMPANY.

PLINY EARLE was born Dec. 17, 1762. He was a
man of sound common-sense, cultivation, and great
hospitality, and lived in a large mansion in the out-
skirts of the town of Leicester, Mass.

He was one of the first to engage in the manufact-
ure of hand-cards, commencing his business in 1786,
and in 1790, as previously stated, he produced for
Samuel Slater the first machine card clothing made
in America ; thus he largely contributed towards suc-
cessfully planting this now great manufacturing
industry. The business which Mr. Earle began
in a small way has ever since been kept in the Earle
family, descending from generation to generation.

The leather first used by Mr. Earle was calf -skin,
but in time he adopted cowhide, which was tanned
especially for the purpose. For hand-cards sheep-
skin was in general use. The teeth in the clothing

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 19

for Mr. Slater's cards were set diagonally, which led
Mr. Earle to the invention of a machine for pricking
twilled cards, for which he obtained a patent, Dec. 6,
1803. The letters-patent were destroyed in the fire
of 1836, and have not been restored. In 1791 his
brothers, Jonathan and Silas, became associated with
him in business, under the firm-name of Pliny Earle
& Brothers. In 1815 Silas Earle commenced busi-
ness in his own name, and SD continued till his death
in 1842. He accumulated a liberal fortune and built
a large mansion not far from his brother Pliny's. Mr.
Pliny Earle died in 1832, and left a reputable name
and business, which had a beginning in 178G, to suc-
cessors, who are now represented in the well-known
concern of T. K. Earle Manufactui'ing Company, of
Worcester, Mass., which was formed Jan. 1, 1880.

Timothy Keese Earle, whose portrait occupies the
fir.^t page of this woi'k, was born Jan. 11, 1823. He
was a son of Henry and Ruth Keese Earle, of Leices-
ter, Mass.

At sixteen years of age he commenced the business
of card-making with his uncle, Silas Earle, and in a
few years purchased his business. He subsequently,
in 1842, moved his business to Worcester and associ

20 HISTORY OF THE

ated his brother Edward Earle with him, under the
firm name of T. K. Earle & Co. In 1857 they built the
largest factory in America for the manufacture of card
clothing, and, with the many additions made since it
was first constructed, it is still much larger than any
other American establishment for this business.

Edward Earle retired from the business in 1869 and
died May 19, 1877, and his interest in the business was
purchased by T. K. Earle's twin brother, Thomas, who
died in 1871. In 1872 Edwin Brown, of Worcester, a
son-in-law of T. K. Earle, became a partner in the busi-
ness. In 1880 a company, underthe name of the T. K.
Earle Manufacturing Company, was formed with T. K.
Earle as president, and Edwin Brown as agent and treas-
urer. T. K. Earle died Oct. 1, 1881, at the age of fifty-
eight years. He was the acknowledged head of the card-
clothing business in America. Quick to recognize
ability in others, and to appreciate what was needed
in his business, he always associated with himself
employe's and mechanics of only the highest ability,
and most of the important improvements in the manu-
facture of card clothing originated in his factory.
The T. K. Earle Manufacturing Company abate no
part of their predecessor's energy or determination to

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHIXG INDUSTRY. 21

make the best goods that can be produced. The most
recent and improved card-setting machine has been in-
vented in their shop by Oliver Arnold, who inherits the
inventive genius of his father, Addison Arnold, who
was one of the early card-makers and inventors. T.
K. Earle and Co. were the first to publish a book of
estimates of the number of square feet of card cloth-
ing required to cover any size cylinder. They printed
five large editions of this most useful work to carders,
and distributed them gratuitously among their cus-
tomers. Before this book of estimates was issued
bills for card clothing could not be verified without
long calculations being made. It was during a visit
to the card-setting machine-room of the T. K. Earle
Manufacturing Company that a well-known English
card-maker, after examining the fine work of the ma-
chines, said, " If I were going to start another card
factory in England, I should order American machines,
as they are much superior to the English, and turn out
finer work." The T. K. Earle Manufacturing Company
own a number of patents on their improvements in the
method of producing card clothing. Pliny Earle made
one kind of card clothing, viz., iron wire teeth set by
hand in leather. To show the difference in the demand

22 HISTORY OF THE

for card clothing between that time and the present,
the T. K. Earle Manufacturing Company now make
all kinds of leather card clothing, using both hemlock
and oak tanned leather, over ten varieties of rubber-
faced card clothing, over ten varieties of cloth card
clothing, and use eighteen or more sizes of soft steel
wire, eleven or more sizes of hardened and tempered
steel wire, besides tinned wire and brass wire of vari-
ous shapes and sizes They curry their own leather,
manufacture card cloths and rubber-faced card cloths
for themselves, and for other card-makers. They have
built almost all their card-setting machines in their
own machine-shop, and are constantly making im-
provements in the quality and the methods of making
card clothing.

The T. K. Earle Manufacturing Company, of
Worcester, Mass., have manufactured double and
single cover cloth for foundation for card clothing
for the past fifteen years, having special and improved
machinery for the purpose, and in 1883 they built a
factory on their premises for the manufacture of all
kinds of card cloths, including vulcanized rubber fac-
ings. With the very best American and English
machinery, and the most improved process of vul-

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 23

canizing rubber for this purpose, they are now pre-
pared to furnish not only their own large card-cloth-
ing factory with card cloths, but have sufficient
capacity to make them for all the card-makers in
America.

Since they first commenced the manufacture of
card cloth, which was formerly all imported from
England, the price of rubber card cloth (one of their
specialties) has decreased over fifty per cent.,
thereby reducing the cost of card clothing of this kind,
to manufacturers, from ten to thirty-five per cent. At
a recent industrial exhibition at the Crystal Palace,
England, this company exhibited their products,
being, we believe, the first and only American exhibit
of card clothing. A medal was awarded them for
excellence of the goods.

We have here the history of an honorable and suc-
cessful business, a century old, that began with
limited facilities, in a room of a few feet square, and
which has developed into one of national import, con-
tributing largely to the healthy growth of an im-
portant industry, which now requires a floor space of
over an acre in extent to do its work and meet the
demands upon it.

24 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER III.

ELEAZER SMITH. HIS EFFORTS TO PERFECT THE CARD-
SETTING MACHINE.

ABOUT the time the rotary carding-machiue of
Lewis Paul was struggling for a recognition in Eng-
land there was born in Medfield, Mass., in 17;j4, a
youth, of humble parentage, by the name of Eleazer
Smith. His education partook of the best that the
schools of his neighborhood furnished in arithmetic,
grammar, geography, reading and writing. A nat-
ural student, fond of reading, and blessed with a
retentive memory, he secured what books he could
on astronomy, botany and chemistry, and became
well versed in these subjects. His mechanical turn
of mind and studious habits seemed to fit him for
certain branches of surgery, in which he was con-
sidered quite skilful. In early life he moved to the
adjoining town of "Walpole, where he afterwards
lived. His house and shop occupied one of the most
eligible locations in the place, on a high elevation,
from which an extended view was to be had of fields

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 25

and scattered woodlands. The buildings disappeared
long ago, and all trace of the spot is found only in a
cellar-hole, a few old bricks that once answered for a
chimney fireplace, and some old poplar trees that
stand like monumental shafts.

That he was regarded as a man of erudition is
noted in the visits he was accustomed to receive from
acknowledged scientific and professional men, for
consultation and information. Dr. Jackson, of Bos-
ton, was a frequent visitor. His favorite occupation
was in mechanics, and many devices attest his
ingenuity. In his boyhood he made a wooden spring
trap for catching rabbits, that became a coveted
instrument for sport, and which has not yet outlived
its usefulness. At the age of fifteen or sixteen he
constructed a complete watch, and encased it in a
white-oak knot, which he fashioned with his jack-
knife. It kept good time. He presented it to Mr.
Aaron Wight, of Medway, who was so well pleased
with it and with Smith's ingenuity, that he gave him
his board for four months, and aided him in making a
complement of tools for the manufacture of watches
and clocks. One of his products was a clock, with
wheels of apple-tree wood and a bell made from a

26 HISTORY OF THE

wineglass, which attracted the notice of Simon
Pettee, a clock-maker of Wrentham, who endeavored
to secure his services ; but his father was not disposed
to let him turn his attention to such things, which he
considered as of no profit. A clock of his, nearly
one hundred years old, is still running in Walpole,
and is in possession of Mr. Lewis Bowker. It is a
curious and simple piece of mechanism, with only
three wheels, and a pendulum which beats seconds.
The face is seven inches in diameter, and made of
brass with the name of Eleazer Smith engraved on
it.

With many other compatriots he enlisted in the
army, in 1776, and marched to the taking of Ticon-
deroga ; but his military career was not one congenial
to his taste, and after several adventures he returned
home and busied himself in inventing machines for
making cards, needles, tacks, nails, pins, and other
contrivances, so as " to do without England," as he
expressed himself. His machine for the manufacture
of solid-headed pins, and drawing the wire for them,
was well devised for making 1,500 pins a day; but
they had to be pointed on a grindstone. The clever-
ness with which he c&uld turn his hand in mechanism

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 27

gained for him quite an extended reputation. Mr.
Jeremiah Wilkinson, a card-maker, of Cumberland,
R.I., set him to work in the planning and construc-
tion of a machine for making card-teeth, which he
did in one month. The operation of this machine
proved very satisfactory, and when known, was the
means of opening engagements to him from three
parties who wished him to build like machines for
them. A pair of hand-cards was valued at this time
at sixteen shillings. The erection of his house and
shop involved him in debt, and his financial embar-
rassments forced him to the harder labor of wood-
chopping and general farm-work for his neighbors,
which brought him in the small income of about sev-
enty-five cents a day.

His conception of a machine for making cards,
which would combine the operations of bending the
teetfy and pricking the holes into the leather, was being
evolved at this period of his life, but his straitened
circumstances too frequently required him to turn to
diverting engagements. Mr. Jonathan Hale, a card-
manufacturer, of Framingham, having heard of Smith's
capabilities, bargained for his services in doing all
such work that required the aptitude of an ingenious

28 HISTORY OF THE

hand, such as mending cart-wheels and improving
machines for making card-teeth and tacks. His
plans for what he termed the " Grand Machine to Stick
Cards," were communicated to Mr. Hale, who sympa-
thized with his efforts and became interested in their
promotion. His creditors so worried him with their
importunities, that he was obliged to seclude himself
in a room under lock and key, so as to conduct his
work uninterruptedly. His plans were probably of
slow development, as Mr. Hale became discouraged,
and on the payment of $150 released himself from
further obligations. His mind bent on accomplish-
ing his purpose, with a nature hopeful and earnest,
he conquered all disposition to disappointment, and
dispelled every apparition that prophesied failure.
Of an ingenuous temperament, suspecting none, he
willingly unfolded his schemes to all who would
favor him with a listening ear. Many did he enter-
tain with the revelation of his designs, as he depicted
here and there the mutual working of his little de-
vices, and portrayed the revolution thev would occa-
sion when they became a reality. Few, however, be-
lieved ; and the apathetic had no word to express,
aside from pronouncing his notions ridiculous. Ad-

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 29

verse opinions had no weight with him ; they did not
diminish the confidence he had in his ideas. He
would often say, " I can see right through it ; I can
see how every part will move." His whole nature
was concentrated on his machine ; he would devote
days and nights, without intermission, to his work,
scarcely allowing himself time to eat, and paying no
attention to those who might venture near him.
With a mind overtaxed and exhausted he would
occasionally leave his shop and roam about the village,
as if demented.

In 1784 he left the employment of Mr. Hale. At
the solicitation of Giles Richards, of Boston, he sub-
sequently went to work in the card-factory of that
gentleman, who had formed a company, consisting of
himself, William and Amos Whittemore, and others.
He remained here twenty-one months, effecting
several improvements in card-setting machinery. It
was during his engagement with this company that
President Washington visited the factory in 1789,
when the machines were under Mr. Smith's super-
vision. They elicited praise from the President,
although they were not working satisfactorily and
showed signs of having been tampered with. Leaving

30 HISTORY OF THE

Boston he spent a whole year in improving a nail-
cutting machine, which he got to be self-feeding and
to cut nails with the fibre of the iron. This machine
came into general use. The idea of it largely origi-
nated from a former invention of his for cutting and
heading card-tacks. While at work completing a
machine for making card teeth, he was visited by Col.
Thomas Denny, Jr., of Leicester, who paid him $93
for it. In 1795 he went to Newburyport to work
for Jacob Perkins in his brad-mill ; but because of a
disagreement in regard to a claim of originality in a
nail-cutting machine, he soon returned home. Passing
through Boston he called on William Whittemore, who
asked him if he thought it possible to construct a
machine to stick cards. He answered affirmatively,
and expressed an intention to accomplish it as
soon as his finances would admit of it. He had
not long been at his home before his shop was the
scene of busy preparations for serious labor on his
" Grand Machine."

While his heart and mind were thus engrossed he
was visited from time to time by those interested in
the manufacture of card clothing, and especially by
Amos Whittemore, and one or more of his associates.

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 31

Not doubting the honest purpose of his visitors he
candidly explained his work, and made known his
ideas, little dreaming that his frankness could possi-
bly operate to his disadvantage. It appears that he
mistrusted the object of Amos Whittemore's comings,
whom he knew to be a skilful mechanic, quick to
turn new ideas to account, and one fully alive to all
improvements iu the card industry. He questioned
Whittemore acutely if he was not also engaged on a
similnr machine ; but his inquisitiveness brought none
other than evasive replies. His machine was grad-
ually nearing completion. It consisted of an iron bed-
plate, twenty-four inches square, with wrought-irou
posts for the centre and working parts, lie had suc-
ceeded in making it prick the leather, make the teeth
and set them in straight, and was about to apply his
ideas in putting on the second bend to the teeth,
when he heard of the patent granted to Amos Whitte-
more, in 1797, who had forestalled him in this last
contrivance and given the machine an automatic com-
pleteness. Mr. Smith was inclined to contest the
validity of the patent, but his limited means and
inability to secure pecuniary assistance, together with
the imperfect knowledge then had of the patent-laws,

32 HISTORY OF THE

prevented him from doing so. Notwithstanding this,
he perfected his machine by a device for making the
second bend, but he never derived any benefit from
it. It is evident that the achievement of Mr. Wliitte-
more had a very depressing effect on Mr. Smith, and
the disappointment was so overwhelming that he
never fully recovered from it. His hopeful prospects
vanished in a moment, as if they were but visions
come to beguile him to deeper poverty and wretched-
ness. Hours, days, years, and a life had been spent
in solving a problem which, when near consumma-
tion, was wrested from him by a more artful hand
than his.

In 1812 he built for Pliny Earle & Bros.,
of Leicester, a machine for making card-teeth, to
be set into the leather by hand. This machine is
still in existence, and one who has seen it says :
" The permanency of construction and beauty of
finish would do credit to a machinist with a set of
tools of the latest improvements." The Whitte-
more patent being confined to the exclusive use of
a few, kept the old practice of setting the teeth in
leather by hand in vogue till 1828. Mr. Smith
died in Walpole, March 9, 1836, aged eighty-two

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 33

years. He was buried in the country graveyard,
now Rural Cemetery, where a plain marble slab marks
the spot of his last resting-place. In 1854 the select-
men of the town made an effort to erect a monument
to his memory, but without success.

34 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER IV.

AMOS WHITTEMORE, HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE CARD-
CLOTHING INDUSTRY. PERFECTION OF THE CARD-
SETTING MACHINE.

AMONG the articles subject to payment of duties in
the first tariff act of 1789 were hand-cards used for
wool and cotton. For every dozen imported there
was levied a duty of fifty cents, and this was con-
tinued till 1812, when a duty of one dollar was im-
posed. The tariff of 1816, and subsequent ones,
make no mention of them, as they had outlived the
necessity of special protection. The last decade of
the eighteenth century was developing an independ-
ence in our industries, in sympathy with the politi-
cal stability which we were establishing among the
nations of the earth. Several woolen and cotton
mills were started in embryo, to meet certain local
wants of thrifty housewives. The first cotton mill,
and the first woolen mill, showing a complete system
of manufacture, were then organized as the beginning
of two branches of a vast industry. To supply the

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 35

demands of these new and growing enterprises the
inventive skill of the American mechanic was taxed
to the utmost ; and to encourage and protect such in
the benefits and emoluments to which it was entitled,
the United States Government enacted certain patent-
laws, which were early called into requisition. Very
few great inventions are patented in any country 5 that
are allowed to stand unmolested as being the exclu-
sive conception, or having priority in conception, in
whole or in part, in the mind of the patentee. The
greater the usefulness of the invention the greater will
be the number of persistent claimants, often with just
cause, but more often with immature pretensions of
fancies that have not got beyond the realm of
thought, and lack the existence of a reality. Patents
do not depend on conception, but on execution ; and
the two are not always the property of the same
person. He who conceives has a right to share in
the honors of him who executes, and he who executes
should not be divested of the glory attending the con-
version of an idea into a fact, of transforming a cru-
dity into a success. To determine the origin of an
invention is a difficult, if not an impossible, task.
The most beautiful and useful mechanical devices

36 HISTORY OF THE

with which we are familiar are simply the imitation
of the action of the human hand. Intercourse with
our fellow-men not only furnishes an incentive, but
serves to create ideas to be matured into practical
application.

Eleazer Smith is entitled to all the encomiums
which have been connected with the products of his
consummate skill as a mechanic. There is no ques-
tion of his ingenuity, and that its free plav was
greatly fettered by his financial embarrassments and
poverty. There is no doubt that he devised contriv-
ances that gave great promise of success in facilitating
the manufacture of card clothing ; and that he should
not have reaped the full benefit of them is no discredit
to him ; it was one of those unfortunate fates that not
infrequently befall the greatest of men. Let not
one jot be taken from whatever is due to the inge-
nuity of Mr. Smith ; it is deserving of laurels ; let
them there remain. In dealing with the history of an
invention we are apt to be involved in a series of
deductions ; and though history, pure and simple, is
a chronicle of facts, it is not always easy to ascertain
what are the facts. Let us review for a moment.
As near as we can determine, about the year 1780,

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 37

Mr. Smith conceived the idea of one machine for
combining the operations of bending the teeth and
pricking the holes into the leather, and he no doubt
experimented upon it during his connection with Mr.
Giles Richards, of Boston. We have, also, mention
of a plan of one Oliver Evans, of Philadelphia, for
pricking the leather, and for cutting, bending and
setting the teeth, which, it has been thought, was
applied, in some form, to the machines of Giles
Richards. Again, in 1784, it seems that a Mr. Chit-
tenden, of New Haven, Conn., devised a machine for
taking the wire from the coil, cutting it into teeth and
giving them the first or double bend ; and this device,
it has been thought, was also taken advantage of by
Mr. Richards, who, it is needless to say, was ac-
tive in all things necessary to promote the profitable
growth of his business. Not presuming to say but
that Smith's conceptions were formed independent of
and even earlier than either of the above, is it not
reasonable to suppose that he derived some helpful
aid from the contrivances in operation on Mr. Rich-
ard's machines while he was in that gentleman's
employ? During his engagement in Boston he was
well acquainted with Amos Whittemore, and knew

38 HISTORY OF THE

him as a very skilful mechanic, and, so far as is
known, was on friendly terms with him. It is nat-
ural to believe that these two men, who were mutually
interested in the same vocation, working side by
side, would talk on matters that absorbed their at-
tention in common, and become more or less familiar
with each other's plans. Whittemore, having a
stronger nature, was probablv more discreet in im-
parting his schemes than Smith, whose ingenuous and
communicative nature would not allow him to with-
hold from others what he knew and what he was
doing. It is not at all unlikely that Whittemore got
from Smith more than what Smith got from Whitte-
more, but it does not necessarily follow that Whittemore
did not have other than well-laid plans of his own
for his machine ; for it is not disputed that he was an
intelligent and proficient workman. It is impossible
to determine where to divide the honors. Two things,
however, are fixed : Whittemore gave the machine an
automatic completeness, and secured a patent for it.

The life of Amos Whittemore runs in the same
channel of many other inventors, with its hopes and
despondencies. He was born in Cambridge, Mass.,
April 19, 1759, and was the second of five brothers,

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 39

and third in a family of ten children. His birthplace
is still standing near the dividing line between Cam-
bridge and Arlington. His father was a farmer in
moderate circumstances, whose bodily strength and
labors were actively and daily needed to supply the
necessaries for his large family. He could give his
children none other than the elementary education
which the schools of his neighborhood furnished, and
when their strength was sufficient to be helpful
to him in the occupations of a farm, he required it of
them ; and the youthful days of Amos were employed
in assisting his father in general out-door labors.
Amos was of a meditative and philosophical turn of
mind, preferring the solitude of his own reflections to
the genial companionship of his associates, which,
with a mechanical aptitude, seemed naturally to
direct him to the abstruse in the science of invention.
He was early made to feel the necessity of choosing
an employment for his maintenance ; and, as he was
left free to make a choice, he selected the trade of a
gunsmith, as having an immediate future of more
profit than anything else at hand. Serving as an
apprentice, he assiduously applied himself to his task
and invented a number of serviceable implements,

40 HISTORY OF THE

which his employer recognized as the manifestation
of a talent far above the mediocrity of a common
workman. Among the many ingenious productions
of his was a clock, made without a model, which long
remained in the possession of his family. A Dr.
Putnam, of Charlestown, becoming interested and in-
timate in his work, and noticing the dexterity with
which he could turn his inventive talent, suggested
to him the invention of a self-acting loom for weav-
ing duck. The suggestion was at once acted upon
and resulted in the construction of a loom, which,
according to some information, embraced the same
principle as evolved in the power-loom of the present
day. The times were not propitious at this period of
his life ; he found but little inducement to be zealous
in securing the adoption of his devices ; for none
seemed to care to improve the methods then in use ;
matters of more general interest were then engross-
ing the thoughts of his fellow-men.

During the war he was much of the time out of
employment, and was obliged to scrupulously husband
his limited resources. Some time subsequent to 1788
he and his brother William, together with five others,
became associated under the firm-name of Giles

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 41

Richards & Co., for the manufacture of card clothing,
and their success gave them a wide reputation. Amos
devoted himself to the mechanical wants of the
factory, and its prosperity was largely dependent
on his management. The production of the factory
was in ready demand, but the expense of manufact-
ure was a serious encumbrance, the same as that
connected with the making of wool and cotton cards
everywhere, because of the imperfect and rude
machines in use, and the large amount of manual
labor required. Amos quickly realized the situation
and saw the opportunity for a grand and substan-
tial success for a machine that would unite all the
operations in one harmonious whole. The occa-
sion was one that appealed most happily to his
nature, as a favorable time to exercise his inventive
ingenuity with a hope of a lucrative return. His
mind became involved in a series of evolutions,
and he applied himself sedulously to experimental
tasks that offered any promise of solving the question.
He kept no account of time ; day and night had no
distinction to him, and physical and mental exhaus-
tion only determined the time for rest. He unfolded
his plans to his brother William, in whom he had

42 HISTORY OF THE

implicit confidence, and received from him encourage-
ment and excellent advice. His incessant toil threat-
ened the complete undermining of his constitution ; but
to him this was of momentary consideration. His in-
genuity was taxed to the utmost, and device after
device was attempted and rejected, all seeming to baffle
and militate against the accomplishment of his pur-
pose.

The laws of physics appeared to work by contraries.
At length parts began to work in more harmony with
each other, and he realized a machine to draw the
wire from the reel, cut and shape it, pierce the holes
in the leather, and place the staples in the sheet ; but
the forming of the second and final bend in the
teeth was a problem that vexed his very soul as one
of insurmountable difficulty. Hope was followed by
despair, and the most glorious prize of all that would
crown his machine with perfection, hovered around
him like a phantom, enticing him on to further exer-
tion, yet eluding his grasp. He did not lack, however,
the support of encouraging friends, who believed in
his ultimate success if he would only persevere be-
lievingly and courageously. To the cheerful assur-
ances of his friends may be attributed much of his

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 43

resolution and unremitting ardor in forcing his scheme
to a successful finality.

While in this maze of doubt, his brain hot with
feverish uncertainty, his thoughts dwelling vaguely
on a theory of possibilities, his exhausted strength
permitted the solution to come to him in a dream.
Such is the testimony of some, and, whether it be true
or not, it is not outside a common experience of
many, to retire at night with a mind confused and
mj'stified by unabated application to a single idea, and
wake up in the morning with it fresh and clear with
the mj-stery revealed and elucidated, as if it were the
work of a vision. He arose at early dawn with a
heart full of emotion, and a face beaming with joy,
and eagerly sought his workshop to place on his ma-
chine the last piece of mechanism that was to trans-
form it into a magnificent consummation. The com-
mencement and the achievement covered a space of
three months, as stated in a memoir of him ; but it is
hardly consistent with his nature and that of the sub-
ject to confine it to so limited a period. The need of
such a machine had been long recognized and dis-
cussed, and it is to be presumed that so earnest and
observant a mechanic as Whittemore would not

44 HISTORY OF THE

have allowed the time to have passed without prac-
tically exercising his inventive skill in accomplishing
the object. The invention was a splendid specimen
of " construction, precision of movement, rapidity of
performance and perfection of execution. It must
be studiously examined to be justly appreciated, and
its complicated performance can be compared with
nothing more nearly than the machinery of the human
system."

The Whittemore brothers took with them to Wash-
ington a full sized and complete machine, as a model,
to be shown to members of Congress, from which
they could form a better and more correct judgment
than from an}- verbal or written description that
could be given of it. It excited much curiosity and
admiration at the astonishing facility with which it
performed its work ; and especially was its advantage
to the woolen and cotton industries reckoned upon
as incalculable. The petition for a renewal of the
patent came before Congress for action, and, after
a little deliberation, it was favorably considered and
granted, March 3, 1809. The vote on the final
passage of the renewing act was fifty-five in the
affirmative and eighteen in the negative, and as

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 45

there is no record of the speeches made on this
occasion, we have no means of knowing the nature
of the objections raised against the extension, or
the animosity that may have been instigated in
opposition. It is a consistent presumption, how-
ever, to say that with the above vote there was some
discussion made on the merits of the invention, or
advisability of renewing the patent. Unanimity
would have been anomalous ; blessings and great in-
ventions do not find appreciation without exciting
hostility and antagonistic elements, though they may
arise from the perversity of human nature, when
disturbed from its conservatism. It is related of
John Randolph, of Roanoke, that, when the question
of extending the patent was before Congress, he
expressed himself with that emphatic eloquence, for
which he was noted: "Yes, I would renew it to all
eternity ! for it is the only machine which ever had a
soul!!"

The act of renewal was as follows : —

An Act to extend to Amos Whittemore and Wm. Whitte-
more, Jr., the patent-right to a machine for manufacturing
Cotton and Wool Cards.

46 HISTORY OF THE

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, that
all the privileges and benefits granted to Amos^Whittemore,
of the State of Massachusetts, in consideration of a machine
invented by him for the manufacture of Cotton and Wool
Cards, within the United States, by a patent issued from the
Department of State, and bearing date the fifth day of June,
one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven, be, and the
same are hereby extended to Amos Whittemore and William
Whittemore, Jr., as joint proprietors of the said machine, for
and during the term of fourteen years, to commence on the
fifth day of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eleven ;
anything in the Act entitled, " An Act to promote the prog-
ress of useful arts ; and to repeal the Act heretofore made for
that purpose," to the contrary notwithstanding.

J. B. VARNUM,

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

J. N. MILBRIDGE,
President of the Senate, pro tern.

March 3, 1809, approved. — TH. JEFFERSON.
(Passed the House Feb. 28, 1809.)

In the year 1803 Samuel Whittemore, a younger
brother, started the manufacture of cards for cotton

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 47

and wool in the city of New York, as a branch of the
business established in Cambridge ; and the novelty
of the machine attracted no little attention. The
success of this branch is not given us, but it probably
moved along slowly and inconsequentially till its
reanimation by the renewal of the patent, when
efforts were soon made to place it on a flourishing
basis, by the addition of capital, to secure the antici-
pated demand and profit resulting from the practical
monopoly which the exclusive control of the ma-
chine would give. It was not long in waiting
before it elicited the serious consideration of men
of money.

An act was passed by the Legislature of New
York, June 15, 1812, incorporating Anthony Post,
John Van Kleeck, Samuel Whitternore, Isaac Mar-
quand and others, as the New York Manufacturing
Companv, for the manufacture of iron and brass wire,
and of cotton and wool cards, with a capital of
$1,200,000. The ninth section of the act provided
that " the corporation shall, as soon as the same shall
be dul}1 organized, contract for and purchase of A. &
W. Whittemore, of Boston, the machinery owned by
them for cutting and sticking card-teeth, together

48 HISTORY OF THE

with the exclusive right, secured to them by letters-
patent from the United States, of using that and
such machinery for the term of thirteen years." The
corporation was required to expend by the 1st of
November, 1813, in the purchase of patent-right and
in the erection of manufacturing houses, machinery
and hydraulic works, $250,000, and $50,000 per year
afterwards, till the capital so invested should
amount to $500,000, which should be kept as a per-
manent manufacturing capital. 'The corporation was
also required to establish in the city of New York
a bank of deposit and discount, and to employ
such parts of its capital stock in it as should
not be otherwise appropriated, not exceeding
$700,000.

The basis of this enterprise was the machinery for
making cotton and wool cards, invented by Amos
Whittemore, of Cambridge, Mass., and patented
June 5, 1797. Samuel Whittemore was a brother
of the inventor, and on the 20th day of July, 1812,
$120,000 was paid for the patent-right for the term
of thirteen years, and for the machtnerj' of the
Messrs. Whittemore. This sale took from Amos
Whittemore all the rights and interest he had in his

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 49

invention, and with his share of the proceeds he
retired to a pleasant estate which he purchased in
West Cambridge, now Arlington, Mass., and lived a
quiet and happy life, that seemed more congenial to
his nature than the vicissitudes of a manufacturing
and mercantile vocation.

The New York Company erected extensive works
on New York island, corresponding with the large
capital which had been invested in the undertaking,
and the laying of the corner-stone of the main build-
ing was attended by elaborate ceremonies in harmony
with the hopeful prospects that the present appeared
to foretell.

The calamities of war, which at this time was de-
stroying our commerce on the seas and subverting
our intercourse with foreign countries, threw upon us
the necessity of supplying our wants from domestic
manufactures, which thus became stimulated into an
unprecedented activity that kept the wheels of trade
in constant motion.

Cotton and woolen factories sprung up as by
magic, as if every water-fall was to have by its side
the busy hum of machinery.

None felt the momentum of the stimulated con-

50 HISTORY OF THE

dition of affairs more than the New York Manufac-
turing Company, which bent every energy towards
securing and supplying the demands of the hour.
The return of peace, in 1815, relieved the intense
pressure of a feverish inflation, and the excess was
everywhere diffused, weakened, and enervated. The
bountifuluess of peace, an event sought for and
prayed for, brought with it no consolation for the
New York Company, but rather disappointments and
losses, by the impairment or destruction of the
channels through which it disposed of its products.
The demand for its manufactures ceased almost
wholly, — there was no market, — and it found itself
suddenly with a large stock of goods on hand of un-
certain value, and expensive machinery standing idle
for want of work.

No reaction coming to favor the continuation of
the business, it was decided to dispose of the
property, which was accomplished by a sale, in 1818,
to Messrs. Samuel and Timothy Whittemore, —
brother and son of Amos Whittemore. Timothy
almost immediately transferred his share to his
uncle, who assumed the exclusive ownership of the
property and continued the business, with varying

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 51

success, till the time of his death, in 1835. The
New York Manufacturing Co., after selling its
property in 1818, dissolved its cooperate title and
took that of the Phoenix Bank, and has pursued the
banking business, which its charter authorized it to
do, to the present day. The second term of the
patent expired in 1825, and the invention was given
to the world. In anticipation of this event, and fear-
ful of the effect it would have on his vocation, Sam-
uel Whittemore sold many of his machines, and very
considerably reduced the limits of his business.

A number of the machines that were used in
Samuel Whittemore's factory were bought by
Gershom and Henry Whittemore, sons of Amos
Whittemore, and moved to West Cambridge, where
a factory was started in 1827 for the manufacture
of cards, and which was kept running till its de-
struction by fire in 1862.

As soon as the expiration of the patent released
the monopoly on the invention orders were received
from England and France for some of the machines ;
but their complication was so imperfectly understood
by the foreign mechanics that workmen had to
be sent from America to set up and start them.

52 HISTORY OF THE

Returning once more to Mr. Amos Whittemore we
find that, with his retirement to his West Cambridge
estate in 1812, he gave himself up to the ease of life
and the enjoyment which he could cull from scientific
reading and reflection, which his natural inclinations
led him to seek. Astronomical inquiries engaged
much of his time, and his ingenuity was displayed
in this line of study by the construction of devices
showing the principle of planetary motions, and
he conceived a plan of a complete orrery, — a ma-
chine that was in high repute during his time, in
the latter part of the 18th and early part of the
19th centuries, but which is now regarded with
little favor.

In the latter part of his life he felt the discomforts of
impaired health and the infirmities of old age. He
died March 27, 1828, at his homestead. He left but
a small fortune. He was spoken of as a man " of
a bland and conciliating disposition, even in temper,
strikingly meditative in manners, conversing but
little, and often seen in profound mental study."
Over his tomb is placed a marble tablet bearing this
inscription : —

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 53

Amos Whittemore,

born
April 19, 1779,

died

March 27, 1828.

Inventor of the celebrated

machine for making cotton

and wool cards ; a marvelous

conception of mechanical

ingenuity, which gave him

a prominent place among

the principal inventors

of the age.
This tablet was erected by his descendants, A.D. 1882.

Desiring to give our subject a consistency as well
as continuity, we have been obliged to omit, for the
time being, all matter not directly connected with the
career of Amos Whittemore, whose history has such
a vital bearing on the existence and success of the
card-clothing industry.

To return to earlier days, when Whittemore's in-
vention was first generally known, but not generally
used, because of its monopoly by the inventor and his
brothers, the methods pursued when labor was 'almost

54 HISTORY OF THE

purely manual, with few or no mechanical devices to
aid and ease the toil, called into requisition the handi-
craft of the neighborhood anywhere within a radius
of twelve miles. The wire teeth were the product of
the factory, but, in order that they be inserted into
the leather, they were distributed in bags among the
households of the vicinity, and thus gave employment
to women and children. Every house became a part
of a factory system, and the community busy in some-
thing which all could do, from the youngest to the
oldest. Women and girls were the most dexterous
members of the family for this kind of work.

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 55

CHAPTER V.

GROWTH OF THE CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY, AND
SKETCHES OF PARTIES ENGAGED IN ITS MANUFACT-
URE.

/

IN 1802 Mr. Wintbrop Earle, an active young man
of twenty-seven, began the manufacture of machine-
cards, and occupied for this purpose the west end of
Col. Denny's dwelling-house in Leicester, Mass.
He soon after built a factory apart from his residence,
and became extensively engaged in his business.
His early death, in 1807, deprived the town of a
most respected citizen. His business, however, did
not suffer for want of a competent successor, as it
was continued by John "Woodcock, a young and in-
genious mechanic who had come from Rutland two
years before. "Woodcock's inventive tact was
manifested in many little devices for overcoming
annoyances that afflicted the crude processes which
were in fashion at that time. On one machine
he secured a patent for reducing leather used in the
manufactnre of cards to a uniform thickness, which

56 HISTORY OF THE

proved to be of much benefit, not only to himself, but
to the manufacturing community in general.

In 1808 Mr. Alpheus Smith associated himself
with Mr. Woodcock, under the firm-name of
Woodcock & Smith. Their factory building was
moved near the hotel, where it stood for many
years. In 1812 James Smith, from Rutland,
joined the firm as an active member. Mr.
Woodcock disposed of his interest in 1813, and
his death is chronicled in the same year, having
acquired a competency which he left to a family of
five children. In 1814 Alpheus Smith sold his
share in the business to his brothers, John A. and
Rufus, and the style of the concern became James &
John A. Smith & Co. The junior member, Rufus, died
in 1818, and the business was carried on by the re-
maining partners till 1825, when John Woodcock,
son of the foregoing John Woodcock, Hiram Knight
and Emorv Drury were taken in as partners. Within
the following eight years many changes took place in
the membership of the firm. Mr. Drury left it in
1829, John A. Smith in 1830, and James Smith in
1833, leaving the business in the hands of John
Woodcock and Hiram Knight, who continued it alone

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 57

till 1848, when they took in their sons, Theodore E.
and Dexter. The firm of Woodcock, Knight & Co.
remained in existence till within a few years.

To show the state of trade in card clothing in the
early history of this concern, we reproduce a letter
that was written by it to a customer in want of card

clothing : —

LEICESTER, June 27, 1812.
MR. E. D. WALCOTT: —

SIR, — Yours of the 18th inst. is just received, in which you
observe you are in want of five or six sets of machine-cards
for the Nassau Cotton and Woollen M. Society, and wish to
know our terms. Our terms are cash in hand. We formerly
gave a credit of three or six months upon our cards, and used
to have the same credit on our stock ; but now our stock com-
mands the cash; therefore we are obliged to sell our cards
for ready pay. Card wire is extremely high and difficult to be
obtained at any price. The present prices of cards are for
those made of No. 30 wire, .$3.00; No. 31 wire, $3.20; No.
32 wire, $3.40; No. 33 wire, $3.60 per square foot; and for
filleting, 1J in. wide, 55 cents; 1& in., 75 cents; and 2 in.,
$1.00 per foot in length. The above are the prices that we
and others are selling cards in this place. We will engage
the cards at the above prices, or at the prices that others may
be selling at in this place. .

Yours respectfully,

WOODCOCK, SMITH & Co.

58 HISTORY OF THE

A letter addressed to this firm, March 17, 1813,
quotes the price of card wire at $1.50 per pound
for Nos. 30, 31, and 32 ; but as it was subject to
daily fluctuation, the quotation was guaranteed only
for the time of its making. The war with England
had made wire a very scarce commodity. We have
mentioned the granting of letters-patent to Pliny
Earle, in 1803, for a machine for pricking twilled
cards. This patent Mr. Earle was particular in de-
fending for his exclusive benefit, and infringers were
warned of their infraction as soon as it came to his
knowledge. It appears from the following document
that Messrs. Woodcock, Smith & Co. were using the
patent in violation of Mr. Earle's rights, which drew
from him a most emphatic protest and a demand
for indemnity : —

LEICESTER, llth Mo., 18, 1813.

To John Woodcock, Alpheus Smith and James Smith, each
of you and all of you: I hereby in the most peremptory
terms forbid your using my inventions and improvements in
making regular and complete twilled or nailed cards, which
improvements are secured to me by law in the Patent-Office
of the United States, as you will be holden to answer all such
violations and encroachments at your peril, agreeably to the

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 59

laws in such cases made and provided. And I do hereby re-
quire you forthwith to settle with me, and make me just and
honest reparation for all former violations and encroachments
on my said improvements and inventions. Now, in order that
you may not deceive yourselves or be deceived, I have left
Fessenden's Law of Patents with Bradford Sumner, at Nath'l
P. Denny's former office, where you may call and be informed
if you wish. I have been at the expense of paying an attorney
for advice, and a journey from Boston, and am now acting

agreeably to his directions.

PLINY EARLE.

Upon Alpheus Smith's withdrawal from his partner-
ship with James Smith, in 1814, he established a card-
factory in his own name, and carried on a large busi-
ness till 1823, when he disposed of it to his brother
Horace, who remained in it till the time of his death
in 1828.

When Mr. John A. Smith dissolved his connection
with Mr. James Smith and others, in 1830, he started
a similar business on his own account, which he con-
tinued till 1844, when he was succeeded by Samuel
Southgate, Jr., and his son, John S. Smith, who con-
ducted the business under the firm-name of Southgate
& Smith till January 1, 1859, when the senior
member retired and his interest was taken by Horace

60 HISTORY OF THE

Waite. The firm of Smith & Waite lasted till
1867, when Mr. Smith's interest was bought by sons
of Mr. Waite, — E. C. and L. M. Waite, — and the
firm-name changed to E. C. & L. M. Waite & Co.,
the father giving the sons the benefit of the name.
This remained till March 10, 1874, when the present
firm was formed under the style of E. C. Waite
& Co.

A good-sized business was done by Jonathan
Earle in his own house from 1804 to 1813. He
was an active and successful manufacturer. His
residence and factory was situated on Mount
Pleasant, lying about a mile west of the village
meeting-house.

In 1810 the firm of Southgate & Sargent com-
menced business. The members, Capt. Isaac South-
gate and Col. Henry Sargent, then young men,
became identified with the progress of the town as
successful manufacturers, and their names have been
long known in the annals of Leicester. Col. Sargent
remained in the firm but two years when he formed a
new concern, and in 1814 took in his brother, Joseph
D. Sargent, as a partner. The latter left in 1819 and
started business for himself in the manufacture of

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 61

" hand and machine cards," having at different times
as partners, Silas Jones, Nathan Ainsworth and
William Boggs. March 1, 1836, he sold his machine-
card business and machinery to Joshua Q. Lamb and
Alonzo White, while he continued the hand-card
business till his death in 1849. Col. Henry Sargent
remained alone after the withdrawal of his brother till
1829, the year of his death. .Captain Southgate con-
ducted his manufacturing without a partner from
1812 to 1826, when he associated with him Joshua
Lamb, Dwight Bisco, Joseph A. Denny and John
Stone, under the name of Isaac Southgate & Co.
Mr. Stone died the next year. In 1828 they erected
a factory in the rear of the meeting-house. In 1831
Mr. Lamb left the firm, and Capt. Southgate did the
same in 1843, which left the business in the hands of
Messrs. Bisco & Denny, who, in 1857, took in their
sons, Charles A. Denny and George Bisco. Joseph
A. Denny died in 1875, and Dwight Bisco died in
1882. John W. Bisco was admitted to the firm in
1882. Mr. Dwight Bisco was in continuous business
for fifty-six years, — a length of time that is allowed
to but few men. He was born in Spencer in 1799, and
went to Leicester, when twenty-three years old, " with

62 HISTORY OF THE

a strong constitution, a few articles of clothing tied
in a bundle, and a silver dollar in his pocket, which
was his capital for beginning his business career. He
at once engaged himself to serve an apprenticeship
and learn the trade of the card-clothing business with
Cheney Hatch, and continued in his employ until
1826."

Mr. Cheney Hatch started a factory in 1 823 and ran
it till 1836, when he sold out to Alden Bisco, who
parted with it in a few months to Henry A. Denny,
an elder brother of Joseph A. Denny. Mr. Denny
continued the business till 1849, when he took in his
sous, Joseph W. and William S., when the firm
became known as Henry A. Denny & Sons, and so
continued to 1854, when the factory, machinery and
business was sold to White & Denny. Their factory
was the only card-clothing factory in town at that
time using steam-power. The manufacturing facili-
ties of White & Denny were thus much enlarged.
This firm was composed of Alonzo White and Chris-
topher C. Denny, the latter a younger brother of
Henry A. and Joseph A. Denny, who had formed a
partnership for the manufacture of card clothing
July 1, 1846. Mr. White, as has been seen, had an

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 63

earlier beginning, at the time he bought with J. Q.
Lamb, in 1836, the business, etc., from J. D. Sargent.
At that time the formation of the firm was made
under the style of Lamb & White, with Liberty Lamb
and Joshua Lamb as silent partners. The two latter
gentlemen dissolved their connection at the termina-
tion of three years, otherwise the firm remained the
same till July 1, 1846, when Mr. Lamb retired to
engage in business by himself, which he did till his
death in 1850. Mr. White continued the business
with C. C. Denny as a partner. Mr. Denny sold
his half interest in 1868 to H. Arthur White, when
the firm-name was changed to A. White & Son, under
which style it now exists.

Mr. Josephus Woodcock, a son of John Woodcock,
who succeeded Winthrop Earle, began the manufact-
ure of cards, in 1828, in connection with Benjamin
Conklin, Jr., a brother-in-law, and Austin Couklin,
under the name of Conklin, Woodcock & Co. Two
years after, the dissolution of the firm placed the
business into the hands of Josephus and his brother
Lucius, who established the firm of J. & L. Woodcock
& Co., which continued under that name for fifty-one
years. Danforth Rice was in the firm from 1831 tc

64 HISTORY OF THE

1836, and William P. White from 1848 to the time of
his death in 1881. Upon the death of Mr. White
the constitution of the partnership was materially
changed, C. H. Woodcock taking the interest of his
father, Josephus, and Henry Biscothe interest of Mr.
White. The firm thereupon became known as L.
Woodcock & Co., which is the existing style.

Samuel Southgate, Jr., and Joshua Murdock, under
the firm-name of Southgate & Murdock, started a
new business in 1840, but after three years Mr.
Southgate withdrew to become associated with John
S. Smith, as previously noticed. Mr. Murdock re-
mained alone till 1847 when he was joined by his
brother Joseph, and the firm of J. & J. Murdock
established, which style has been preserved to the
present time. In 1857 John N. Murdock, a younger
brother, was admitted as a partner, in which condition
it continued till March, 1882, when Joshua, the senior
member, died. In that year was formed the existing
constitution of the firm, viz.: Joseph, John A., and
Julius O. Murdock, and Alexander De Witt — who
sold out his interest in 1883.

Baylies Upham and Samuel Hurd became part-
ners in 1825, and so continued till 1833, when Mr.

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 65

Upham took the business to himself and conducted
it to 1850, when Erving Sprague became associated
with him. The latter left the firm in 1855, and the
next year Mr. Upham disposed of his business to
J. & J. Murdock.

In the year 1842 John H. and William Whitte-
more formed a partnership. A younger brother,
James, was admitted in 1845. In 1851 John H.
Whittemore was killed on the cars on the Western
Railroad, now the Boston & Albany. The style of
the firm was changed at this time to W. & J. Whitte-
more, which is the same to-day. In 1874 W. F.
Whittemore, son of James, became a partner. In
1882 James died.

It would be a difficult, if not impossible, task to
give a record of all those who have engaged in the
card-clothing industry in the town of Leicester. In ad-
dition to those already mentioned we notice the name
of Reuben Meriam, as having been ten years in busi-
ness, from 1821, with George W. Morse and Henry
A. Denny as partners at different times. Harry
Ward carried ona business from 1810 to 1824. Others
can be named, as : Daniel Denny, Captain William
Sprague & Sons, Barnard Upham, Roswell Sprague,

66 HISTORY OF THE

Samuel D. Watson, Aaron Morse, Guy S. Newton,
Timothy Earle, Samuel Southgate, William H. Scott
and Henry Earle.

We have referred to Joseph D. Sargent as an
active manufacturer of card clothing in Leicester.
He had two sons, Joseph B. and Edward, who be-
came extensively engaged in the hand-card business,
which proved very lucrative during the war ; and
in 1866 they organized the Sargent Card Clothing
Co., and built a factory in Worcester, with Edward
Sargent as manager. April 15, 1879, the factory and
business was sold to James Smith & Co., of Phila-
delphia. Also in Worcester is the large establish-
ment of the T. K. Earle Manufacturing Company that
was established by Pliny Earle in 1786, and before
referred to. January 1, 1867, C. A. Howard and
Clarence Farnsworth commenced business under the
firm-name of Howard & Farnsworth. In May, 1868,
A. H. Howard was taken into the concern, and in
the following October Mr. Farnsworth retired, leaving
the two brothers together under the firm-name of
Howai'd Bros., who conducted the business till 1870,
when thev took in their brother, J. P. Howard. Chas.

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 67

F. Kent commenced the making of Card Clothing in
January, 1880.

The present Stedman & Fuller Manufacturing Co.,
former!}' of Lawrence, Mass., but now of Provi-
dence, R.I., is a recently incorporated company. Its
history, as a continuous concern, may be said to have
commenced as far back as the year 1847, or about
that time, when Smith, Walker & Co. came to Law-
rence fromEnfield, Mass., to engage in the manufact-
ure of card-clothing, with an established connection
with Jones, Wood, & Co., of Enfield, — one of the old-
est card-clothing manufacturing firms in the country.
They were succeeded in 1850 by Warren and Bryant ;
and this firm changed its partnership in 1856, by the
sale of Mr. Oliver Bryant's interest to S. M. Stedman
and George A. Fuller, — two employe's, — which occa-
sioned n change in the firm-name to Stedman & Fuller.
In 1858 this new firm purchased the machinery,
fixtures and stock of the Enfield concern, then owned
by Rufus D. Woods, and moved the same to their
Lawrence factory. No change was again effected till
August 1, 1883, when the business was incorporated
under its present style and name.

Davis & Furber Machine Co., of North Audover,

68 HISTORY OF THE

Mass., added the manufacture of card clothing to
their business about twenty years ago, and are now
engaged in it, though it holds a subordinate position
to their other work. In addition to the concerns
before mentioned are the following: D. F. Robin-
son, located at Lawrence, Mass. ; the Lowell Card
Co., at Lowell, Mass., and E. P. Stetson, who carries
on business at Walpole, Mass.

We have seen that Amos Whittemore visited Eng-
land in 1799 to secure to himself the advantage of
his invention in that country ; but his efforts proved
of no avail, and the first patent granted in that
country for a card-setting machine was that given to
J. C. Dyer, of Manchester. Nothing, however, ap-
pears to have been done with this invention till a long
time after, — about 1830, — when Mr. Dyer visited
the United States and obtained a machine, and com-
menced business in Manchester, on a very extensive
scale, under the firm-name of J. C. Dyer & Co. This
firm was the first to successfully set cards mechan-
ically. The machine used was probably for making
the clothing in sheets, and the adaptations for the
making of fillet were subsequently applied, as we
observe that Mr. James Walton, of Haughton Dale

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 69

Mills, Dentou, near Manchester, not only greatly im-
proved Mr. Dyer's machine, but constructed the fillet
machine that has remained practically the same to
this day, or for a period of over forty years. One of
these machines was on exhibition as early as 1838, at
a fair at Lowerby Bridge.

70 HISTORY OF THE

CHAPTER VI.

LATER INVENTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF CARD CLOTHING. VARIETIES MADE.

THE mechanical history of the industry is repre-
sented in the daily operations of any card-clothing
factory ; it is a thousand times repeated in the course
of the year, and the many devices which make up its
parts and exhibit its condition have been, in essential
features, familiar to the workman for a generation or
more. Everything connected with the manufacture
of card clothing bears the imprint of intelligence in
the careful and exact manipulation of the materials
that go into the final product. The machines that
insert the teeth impress the observer with being in
the presence of an inanimate object possessing
a conscientious sense of duty. The empk>3*£s that
are to be met with in every department carry with
them the character of thoughtful intelligence upon
which society can safely depend for its moral sup-
port.

The first step in the manufacture of card clothing

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 71

is the selection of the material for the foundation
or backing into which the teeth are to be inserted.
The selection is influenced by the purpose for which
the clothing is to be used, the stock that it is to card,
and its relative cost. Leather is most universally
used, and has been employed from the earliest be-
ginning. For some purposes its advantages are
superseded by other materials that have been con-
structed of cloth and rubber, though the prime con-
sideration for substitution was occasioned by the
matter of less cost. The kiiids of leather that are
used are the hemlock and oak tanned. The first
is more generally employed, as it possesses more
pliability and greater compactness, aside from mak-
ing a smoother and better appearing piece of work.

Those unacquainted with the requirements for
which leather is intended have but a slight apprecia-
tion of the discrimination that must be exercised in
its selection, so that it may be alike in texture and
other essential features. This difficulty is greatly in-
creased when assortments have to be made from prod-
ucts of different tanneries.

Cloth backings vary in composition, and a major-
ity of them have rubber in combination. The value

72 HISTORY OF THE

of solid cotton doth is in its comparative cheapness, and
it is exclusively applied to the cotton card. Its
adaptation to other stock has been found insufficient
and defective. All cloth backings have the matter
of uniformity of thickness in their favor, which is a
very valuable feature.

The rubber-cloth backings may be confined to those
covered or having a facing on one side of either
natural or vulcanized rubber. The body of this kind
of clothing is made of several layers of cotton cloth,
though in some cases linen is substituted. Its chief
recommendations are its superior elasticity and the
support which it gives to the teeth. It also pos-
sesses the elements of cheapness, strength and
durabilit}-, which stand in more than favorable com-
parison. The employment of india-rubber in the
manufacture of card clothing is not of recent inven-
tion, though it is only of late years that American
mills have given it extensive use.

Natural rubber is successfully used only for the
making of card clothing for carding cotton. Being
quickly affected by changes in temperature, — harden-
ing in a cold atmosphere, softening in a warm room, —
and liable at any time to be ruined by oil carelessly

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 73

dropped on it by some workman, or from overhanging
shafting, it cannot be relied on for uniform work,
and is being rapidly displaced by cloth cards, and by
the vulcanized rubber faced card clothing, which re-
tains all the elasticity and other advantages of the
natural rubber with none of its disadvantages.

Its advantages over leather are its cheapness and
durability, and it is regarded by many as superior in
its working qualities. The use of this kind of artifi-
cial material has another valuable feature in the firm
and elastic support it gives to the wire teeth. It is
well known that the holes in leather have to be made
larger than the wire to allow for the insertion of the
teeth, and, as the holes close up only partially, the
teeth are left unsupported and with a considerable
freedom of plaj-. With an India-rubber and cloth
foundation, the holes will contract about the teeth,
permitting them to depend on the material for sup-
port and elasticity, thus securing an important aid
towards durability. The strength of the clothing
lies in the cloth, which is especially effective if con-
structed partly of linen, and " it would be very
rough usage indeed in clothing cylinders with fillets
which would cause its breakage."

74 HISTORY OF THE

Vulcanized rubber card clothing is used for all
varieties of carding. It is made with several layers
of cotton cloth, or cotton and linen cloths combined,
covered by a thin layer of vulcanized rubber, spread
on as paste, instead of natural rubber.

Vulcanized rubber faced cloth of the best quality
is now taking the place of leather almost entirely
for foundation or backing for card clothing for
carding worsted wools, which are worked with a
large amount of water and oil, where leather soon
hardens, and the splices or laps in the filleting,
no matter how well cemented and sewed, soon give
way. There being no laps in rubber filleting there
are no damages to clothing caused by the break-
ing of a piece of filleting which has come apart
in a lap.

Over twenty years ago Horsfall, of England,
invented a cloth for a backing for card clothing, which
is still one of the best in use. It is made of a woolen
cloth woven with a linen warp and covered on one or
both sides with cotton cloth. The cotton cloth is
cemented to the woolen by an oil cement which is un-
affected by oil or temperature. The T. K. Earle
Manufacturing Company has successfully made it for

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING ISDIf&TRY* 75

thirteen years and recommend it for all carding
where there is no moisture.

There are other constructions of clothing, but the
foregoing are in most general use. Some forms have
cotton cloth with rubber filling instead of rubber fac-
ing.

The wire that is now in greatest popularity is
hardened and tempered steel, which will shortly be
so universally used that the common iron wire will
scarcely be known. Most of the wire that is put
into clothing is of English importation, and some
of the largest manufacturers have foreign corre-
spondents, through whom they obtain a regular sup-
ply. Tempered steel wire is made to some extent
in this country, and considerable improvements have
been made within the last six or eight months ;
but up to this date general preference favors the
English production. The cost of clothing with
tempered steel wire teeth exceeds that with the
common round iron wire about 75 per cent. ; but to
make amends for this great disparity in price, the
steel wire more than offsets it in durability, in elas-
ticity, in allowing a better and more lasting point,
permitting harder usage and requiring less repairs.

76 HISTORY OF THE

The hardness of the wire is one of the important
points which should receive the careful attention of
the consumer. It is more difficult to make a nice-
looking card of the hard than of the soft-tempered
wire. The hard-tempered wire is far more durable,
and requires less frequent grinding than the mild or
soft-tempered wire.

The chief property of steel, and upon which it is
particularly valued, is what is known as its tempera-
bility. By heating and cooling it in different degrees
and at different rates of rapidity, almost any degree
of hardness or softness may be obtained. The process
of tempering steel wire for card-clothing purposes has
not been successfully attempted in this country un-
til recently. It may be generally understood by
saying that the wire is drawn through molten lead,
and hardened by being immersed in oil, and again
passed through molten lead, at a lower temperature
than the first, to give it the proper temper.

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 77

CHAPTER VH.

DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS PROCESSES IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF CARD CLOTHING. PRESERVATION OF

THE FIRST CARD-SETTING MACHINES.

THERE are several kinds of wire used in the manu-
facture of card clothing, which are made of either
iron, steel or brass. The forms are either round or
angular, the latter being cut with a diamond point.
The round form is that most commonly met with,
and is employed for all ordinary clothing, in both
sheets and filleting. The angular form is generally
given to such wire as is intended to perform heavy
work, and is particularly adapted to covering feed-
rolls, lickers-in, tumblers and cylinders of carding
machines designed for carding shodcly and similar
•waste. The diamond point, which is given to the
angular wire, is destroyed by any attempt at grind-
ing, therefore when it has been worn off by use, the
clothing is beyond redemption and should be replaced
by new. It is in its best condition when it first
comes from the maker's hands. Round wire is in an

78 HISTORY OF THE

imperfect condition as it comes from the maker's
hands and has to be ground with emery before it can
perform its duty. The brass wire has its sphere of
usefulness in places where dampness exists, and only
in such places is it employed, as on cloth-drying
machines, etc. Tin-plated wire is also used in moist
places, especially for worsted carding.

The processes through which leather is made to pass
in order to fit it for conversion into card clothing, are
simple in their parts, but require much care, exact-
ness, and discriminating judgment. The proper selec-
tion of leather is an important item in the successful
conduct of a factory, and no inferior talent can be
prudently allowed in this first step towards manu-
facture. The leather that is suitable for card cloth-
ing is taken from the back and side of the hide. The
best portion, that through the center of the side, is
chosen for the sheets, the next in quality for filleting,
and that along the back is used for coarse and heavy
wire, such as the angular wire, etc. As none but
clean stock can be employed, it will be readily appre-
ciated that there must be a considerable amount of
•waste made, which increases relatively the cost of
the stock that is selected. One-quarter to one-half

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 79

of the hide is thus rejected as waste, so to speak, and
sold as remnants, at a low valuation, say from one-
third to one-half of the cost.

The operations connected with the progress of
manufacture of sheets and filleting are similar, vary-
ing in certain particulars according to the nature of
their design. The hides, having been cut up into
proper forms, are put into water to soak till the}- be-
come soft and pliable. The various strips of leather
are then put through a splitting machine to bring them
to a uniform thickness. A second wetting process is
then gone through with, followed by an operation of
stretching by rubbing, laterally for sheets and length-
wise for filleting. The leather is now subjected to
treatment with a mixt ire of neat's-foot oil and tallow,
technically called stuffing, because the pores are
thoroughly filled with the grease. In this condition
it is hung up to dry, and when this is accomplished
the sheets have their edges trimmed and straightened,
and the fillets are trimmed to a certain uniform width.
The sheets are now dry-stretched laterally on a
machine, then limbered on what is termed a gridiron,
and thus made ready to receive the teeth. The fillets,
after trimming, are matched, that is, the ends of the

80 HISTORY OF THE

strips are bevelled off at a very acute angle, and then
lapped and glued together into one long continuous
piece. Before uniting the short strips, they are care-
fully sorted and classified according to flexibility and
condition, and those of a kind are put together. The
long pieces are put up into rolls from 300 to 400 feet
in length. After gluing, the filleting is for a second
time passed dry through a shaving machine, to equal-
ize thickness, and it is then trimmed to width and
finished ready for the teeth.

There are very few who engage in the manufacture
of card-setting machines, and none who make it a
special business to the exclusion of others. The ma-
chines that are made come from the shops of the
large card-clothing manufacturers, who supply not
only their own wants but those of the smaller estab-
lishments. This is explainable from the fact that a
machine has a long life, and a factory once supplied
has no occasion to make further purchase in the way
of renewals, and the only bill of expense is that which
arises from necessary repairs. Little account is taken
of improved machinery any further than certain ac-
cessories which can be adjusted to most every kind
of machine. Fundamentally there has been but

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 81

little improvement for a great many vears, and ma-
chines that are from thirty to forty years old are in
successful operation to-day, favorably competing with
those of more modern construction. We do not
mean, however, to be understood that there has been
no progress made ; but the advance has not been so
material as to incapacitate machines made twenty-five
years ago from doing good work in competition with
those of recent make.

While we are at this point of our subject it may be
fitting to dwell upon a little episodical history con-
nected with the manufacture of card machines. We
wish to state the obligation we owe to Mr. Thomas
A. Dickinson, of Worcester, Mass., for the great as-
sistance he has rendered in furnishing us with the
larger portion of the material from which the follow-
ing is composed. We desire to furthermore acknowl-
edge the willing aid we have received from this
gentleman in other portions of tins series. There is
a card-tooth machine now in the possession of a
Worcester party, manufactured by Joshua Lamb, of
Leicester, about sixty years ago. It is in excellent
running order, and capable of making from 500 to
600 teeth per minute. It was made by Mr. Lamb as

82 HISTORY OF THE

an improvement on his upright arbor machine, which he
patented in 1819, and which is now in the Museum
of the Worcester Society of Antiquity, where also
may be seen a circular card -tooth machine, that was
made about 1810, but by whom we have been unable
to find out. In the same place may be found a card-
tooth machine made by Eleazer Smith about the year
1814, and which, it is thought, was made for Pliny
Earle of Leicester. In addition to the above
machines Joshua Lamb obtained letters-patent on a
card-setting machine in 1827. Reuben Merriam of
Leicester, secured letters-patent on a card- filleting, or
cub, prick, and set machine in 1831.

It would seem unjust if no mention was made
of some other prominent mechanics and inventors
who have made valuable improvements in card-
setting machines. There are no doubt many names
that could be added to the list, but we have
been able to come into possession only of the
following : Joseph Elliott, who lived in Leicester in
1828, was one of the first to make decided improve-
ments in the card machine. He afterward removed
to Enfield, Mass., and made machines for Jones,
Woods & Co. , of whom we have spoken heretofore.

AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY. 83

The Porter Brothers were ingenious mechanics of
Springfield, Vt., who commenced the manufacture of
cards about the year 1830, with machinery of their own
invention. They were the first to put stop-motions
on the machine, and the same stop is now in use in
some of the factories in Worcester. Rufus Sargent
started the card-setting business in Auburn, N.Y.,
and many of his machines were of his own design
and manufacture. He was the first to apply the
jointed die stop, hung on centres. A Mr. Coates of
Springfield, Mass., made the first machine for making
endless doffer-rings, in 1852 or 1853. He took out
letters patent for it in 1854. William B. Earle, now
living at the age of eighty-five, commenced building
card machines in 1828. In 1837 he received a silver
medal from the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic
Association for a card-sticking machine. Some of
the machines in use by the T. K. Earle Manufactur-
ing Company, Worcester, were made by him. Great
credit is due to the names of Addison Arnold, Na-
than Ainsworth, David McFarland, Austin Conklin,
Augustus B. Prouty, David O. Woodman, Charles
Ballard and Oliver Arnold, for the progress which
has been made in the card-clothing industry.

APPENDIX.

1738. — John Wyatt's patent on Cotton-Spinning
Machine.

1743. — John Kaye invented Fly Shuttle.

1748. — Lewis Paul patented Cylinder Card for card-
ing cotton.

1754. — Eleazer Smith born in Medford, Mass.

1759. — Amos Whittemore born in Cambridge,
Mass., April 19.

1762. — Dec. 17. Pliny Earle born in Leicester.

177°* — Sir Richard Arkwright's improvements on
Paul's Card.

1775. — Above improvements patented.
Winthrop Earle born.

1778. — Oliver Evans' Machine for making Card
Teeth introduced.

1780. — Eleazer Smith first thinks of complete Card-
Setting Machine.

1784. — Chittenden's invention on Card Machine.

86 AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY.

1785. — Edmund Snow of Leicester commenced

making Hand Cards.

1786. — Pliny Earle commenced business, thus estab-

lishing Card-Clothing industry now car-
ried on by the T. K. Earle M'fg Company,
of Worcester, Mass.

1788. — Evans' invention applied to Card Machine
by Giles Richards.

1789. — President George Washington's visit to the
Card-Clothing factory of Giles Richards &
Co. in Boston (Eleazer Smith, sup't).
Duty on Hand Cards 50 cents per dozen.
Samuel Slater left England for the United
States.

170,0. — Pliny Earle the first in the United States to
make Machine-Card Clothing.

1791. — Firm of Pliny Earle & Brothers formed.

1792. — Eli Whitney invented Saw Cotton Gin.

1794. — Mark Richards manufactures Card Clothing
near Faneuil Hall, Boston.

1797. — Patent granted Amos Whittemore for Card
Machine.

1800. — William B. Earle born.

1802. — Winthrop Earle began the manufacture of
Machine-Card Clothing in Leicester.

APPENDIX. 87

1803. — Samuel Whittemore manufactures Card

Clothing in New York City.
Dec. 6. Patent granted to Pliny Earle on

machine for Pricking Twilled Cards.
1804. — Jonathan Earle started in business this year

and continued until 1813.
1807. — Winthrop Earle died.
1808. — Firm of Woodcock & Smith formed.
1809. — March 3. Renewal of patent granted to

Amos and William Whittemore, Jr.
1810. — Southgate & Sargent commence business.
Harry Ward in business from this year to

1824.
1812. — June 27. Prices of Card Clothing; see

Page 55-

July 20. Amos and William Whittemore,
Jr.'s, patent leased to the New York Manu-
facturing Co.

Eleazer Smith built Card Machine for Pliny
Earle and Brothers.

Duty on Hand-Cards $1.00 per dozen.
1813. — March 17. Prices Card Wire ; see page 56.
1814. — Henry and Joseph D. Sargent in partner-
ship.

88 AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY.

Alpheus Smith started Card Factory in own
name and then sold to James and John A.
Smith & Co.

1815. — Silas Earle commenced business.

iSiS. — The New York Manufacturing Co.'s ma-
chinery, etc., sold to Samuel and Timothy
Whittemore, brother and son of Amos.

1819. — Joseph D. Sargent started business in own
name.

1823. — Timothy Keese Earle born February 1 1 .

1825. — John Woodcock, Jr., Hiram Knight and
Emory Drury partners in firm of James
and John A. Smith & Co.
Baylies Upham and Samuel Hurd manu-
facture Card Clothing from 1825 to 1833.

1826. — Firm of Isaac Southgate & Co. commence
business with Joshua Lamb, Dwight Bisco,
Joseph A. Denny, John Stone and Isaac
Southgate.

1827. — Gershom and Henry Whittemore, sons of
Amos, start Card Factory at West Cam-
bridge, Mass.

John Stone, one of firm of Isaac South-
gate & Co., died.

APPENDIX. 89

1828. — William B. Earle commenced building Card
Machines.

March 27. Amos Whittemore died.

Josephus Woodcock, Benjamin Conklin,Jr.
and Austin Conkling began manufact-
uring Cards.

Factory erected by Isaac Southgate & Co.

1832. — Pliny Earle died.

1833. — Baylies Upham bought out Samuel Kurd's

interest in firm of Upham & Hurd.
1836. — March i. Joseph D. Sargent sold Machine

Card business to Joshua Q. Lamb and

Alonzo White.

Eleazer Smith died March 9, aged 82 years.
Cheney Hatch sold out to Alden Bisco, who

sold out in a few months to H. A. Denny.
1837. — William B. Earle received silver medal

from Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic

Association for Card-Sticking Machine.
1839. — Timothy K. Earle commenced Card business.
1842. — Timothy K. Earle moved Carcl-Clothing

business from Leicester to Worcester and

associated his brother Edward with him ;

firm name T. K. Earle & Co*,

90 AM FBI CAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY.

j843. — Medal awarded to T. K. Earle & Co. by
American Institute.

1844. — John A. Smith succeeded by Smith &
Southgate.

1845. — James Whittemore admitted to firm of John
H. & Wm. Whittemore.

1846.— Medal awarded T. K. Earle & Co. by
American Institute.

1847. — Joshua Murdock joined by his brother Jo-
seph ; firm-name J. & J. Murdock.

1848. — Firm of Woodcock, Knight & Co. formed.

William P. White with firm of J. & L.
Woodcock & Co.

1849. — Henry A. Denny & Sons started.

1850. — Smith, Walker & Co. succeeded by Warren

& Bryant.

Erving Sprague associated with Baylies
Upham to 1855.

1851. — Medal awarded T. K. Earle & Co. at Crystal

Palace, England, for excellence of goods.

Medal awarded to T. K. Earle & Co. by

Worcester County Mechanics' Association.

1852. — This year or 1853 the first machine was

built for making Endless DofFer Rings.

APPENDIX. 91

1853. — Medal awarded T. K. Earle & Co. by Mas-

sachusetts Charitable Mechanic Associa-
tion.

1854. — H. A. Denny & Sons sold business to White

, & Denny.

Contes' Endless DofFer Ring machine
patented.

1856. — Oliver Bryant sold out to Stedman & Fuller.

1857. — T. K. Earle & Co. built present factory in

Worcester, Mass.

1862. — Card factory of Gershotn & Henry Whitte-
more at West Cambridge, Mass., burned
down.
1867. — Firm of Howard & Farnsworth started.

E. C. & L. M. Waite buy out John S.

Smith.
1868. — A, H. Howard admitted to firm of Howard

& Farnsworth in May.
C. Farnsworth retired in October.
White & Denny changed to A. White & Son.

1869. — Edward Earle retires from business.

1870. — J. P. Howard admitted to firm of Howard

Brothers.

1871 . — Thomas Earle died.

92 AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY.

1872. — Edwin Brown admitted to firm of T. K.

Earle & Co.

1873. — T. K. Earle & Co. commenced the manu-

facture of Woolen Card Cloths.
1875. — Joseph A. Denny died.
1877. — Edward Earle died May 19.

1879. — Sargent Card-Clothing Co. sold out.

1880. — T. K. Earle Manufacturing Company

formed January ist, with T. K. Earle,
President, and Edwin Brown, Agent and
Treasurer.

1881. — T. K. Earle died October ist, aged 58 years.

First Hardened and Tempered Cast Steel
Wire for Card Clothing imported from
James Royston, Son, & Co., Halifax,
England, and used by T. K. Earle
Manufacturing Company.

William P. White died.

L. Woodcock & Co. formed.

1882. — Tablet erected to memory of Amos Whitte-

more.

Joshua Murdock died in March.
James Whittemore died.
D wight Bisco died.

APPENDIX. 93

1883. — Factory for making Card Cloths erected by
the T. K. Earle Manufacturing Company.
Alex. DeWitt sold out interest in firm of
J. & J. Murdock.

1884. — Additions made to T. K. Earle Manufact-
uring Company's Cloth Factory.

1886. — Centennial Anniversary of establishment of
T. K. Earle Manufacturing Company's
Card-Clothing business.

INDEX.

PAGE

Anthony, Daniel 12

Appendix 85

Arkwri^ht, Sir Richard 10

Arnold, Addison 21

Arnold, Oliver 21

Bisco & Denny gi

Brown, Edwin 20

Card Cloth 22

Vulcanized Rubber . 22

Card Clothing — Its Early History and Inventions . 7

Varieties made 70

Various Processes in its Manufacture

Chittenclen, Mr 15

Chronological Table 85

Conklin, Woodcock & Co 63

Denny, Col. Thomas, Jr 30

Denny, Henry A., & Sons ........ 62

Denny, Joseph A 61

Drury, Emory 56

Earle, Edward ^20

Earle, Henry 19

Earle, Jonathan 19 60

Earle, Pliny 17, 18, 19, 58, 59

Earle, Pliny, & Bros. . 19 32

Earle, Ruth ' 19

Earle, Silas 19

Earle, Timothy Keese 19 20

Earle, T. K., MTg Companv . . .19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 66, 83

Earle, Thomas 20

Eyrie, William B 83

Earle, Winthrop 55, 63

Elliott, Joseph 82

Evans, Oliver 12, 15, 37

Hale, Jonathan 27

Hatch, Cheney 62

Howard & Farnsworth ... 66

96 AMERICAN CARD-CLOTHING INDUSTRY.

PAGE

Jones, Woods <fe Co 82

Kaye, John 9

Knight, Hiram 56

Lamb, Joshua Q 61

Lamb & White 63

Murdock, J. & J 65

New York M'f g Company 47, 48, 49, :>1

Niles, Nathaniel 12

Paul, Lewis 9, 10, 24

Porter Bros 83

Richards, Giles 13, 14. 15

Richards, Mark 14

Sargent Card-Clothing Company 66

Sargent, Joseph D. 60

Slater, Samuel 16-19

Smith, Alpheus 56, 59

Smith, Eleazer 24-36

Smith, James 56, 59

Smith, John A., & Co r>6, 59

Smith & Waite 60

Snow, Edmond 16

Southgate & Murdock 64

Southgate & Sargent 60

Southgate & Smith 59

Stone, John 61

Waite, E. C. & L. M 60

White, A., & Son . 63

White, Alonzo 61

White & Denny 62

Whittemore, Amos 31,32,37-54

Whittemore, Gershom 51

Whittemore, Henry • ... 51

Whittemore, Samuel 46, 50, 51

Whittemore, Timothy. . , 50

Whittemore, William 14, 29, 30

Whittemore, W.&J 65

Wilkinson, Jeremiah 12, 27

Woodcock, John 55, 56

Woodcock, J. & L 63

Woodcock, Knight & Co 57

Woodcock, L., & Co 64

Woodcock, Smith & Co 56,57

Wyatt,John 9

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