Spinning Jenny, circa 1825
THF126237 / Spinning Jenny, circa 1825
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Artifact Overview
Innovations in weaving technology created an ever-greater demand for yarn. Spinning wheels that produced one or two yarns at a time could not keep up with this demand, leading to the development of multiple-spindle machines. This hand-operated spinning jenny produces multiple yarns simultaneously. Designed to allow home workers to compete with factory production, it was notoriously difficult to operate successfully and never came into wide use.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Spinning jenny
Date Made
circa 1825
Place of Creation
Location
at Henry Ford Museum in Made in America
Object ID
29.227.1
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Wood (Plant material)
Dimensions
Height: 70.75 in
Width: 51.375 in
Length: 27.5 in
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Related Content
SetSpinning Highlights from the Collections of The Henry Ford
- 16 Artifacts
Spinning frames spin cotton fiber into yarn and then wind it onto a bobbin. This throstle spinning frame could simultaneously spin 64 strands of yarn. (Throstle -- an old name for a song thrush -- refers to the bird-like sounds the machine made.) Machines like this helped produce the large quantities of yarn that growing industrial weaving operations needed in the early and mid-1800s.