Thread Collection (#32)

MORRILL TARIFF, 1861. An American custom house appraiser strains his eyes while trying to count the threads in a square yard of fabric to determine the duty tax under the Morrill Tariff

ANDERSEN: THUMBELINA. Drawing by Arthur Rackham for the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1913. A group of young workers with supervisors at the Brazos Valley Cotton Mill, West, Texas. Photograph by Lewis Hine, November 1913

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1910. A young spinner at a cotton mill in North Pownal, Vermont. Photograph by Lewis Hine, August 1910

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1908. A young sweeper and doffers with a supervisor in the Lancaster Cotton Mills, one of the worst places found for child labor in Lancaster, South Carolina

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1909. A young spinner working in the Globe Cotton Mill in Augusta, Georgia. Photograph by Lewis Hine, January 1909

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1908. Young workers eating their lunch on the floor between the spinning machines at the Kesler Mfg. Co. in Salisbury, North Carolina. Photograph by Lewis Hine, December 1908

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1909. A young doffer working in the Globe Cotton Mill in Augusta, Georgia. Photograph by Lewis Hine, January 1909

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1908. Young doffers working at their machines at the Cherryville Mfg. Co. in Cherryville, North Carolina. Photograph by Lewis Hine, November 1908

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1908. Young doffers pushing carts filled with spools of thread in the Trenton Mills in Gastonia, North Carolina. Photograph by Lewis Hine, November 1908

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1911. A young spinner at the Washington Cotton Mills in Fries, Virginia. Photograph by Lewis Hine, May 1911

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1911. A bobbin boy in the spinning room of a textile mill in Chicopee, Massachusetts. Photograph by Lewis Hine, November 1911

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1908. A young doffer at Rhodes Mfg. Company in Lincolnton, North Carolina. Photograph by Lewis Hine, November 1908

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1908. A young spinner working in Vivian Cotton Mills in Cherryville, North Carolina. Photograph by Lewis Hine, November 1908

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1908. A group of young workers at the Clyde Cotton Mill in Newton, North Carolina. Photograph by Lewis Hine, December 1908

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1914. An eleven-year old girl working as a looper in the Crescent Hosiery Mill in Scotland Neck, North Carolina. Photograph by Lewis Hine, November 1914

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1916. A young boy spinning at the textile mill in Fall River, Massachusetts. Photograph by Lewis Hine on 21 June 1916

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1916. A young cleaner and sweeper at the Spinning Department of American Linen Co. textile mill in Fall River, Massachusetts. Photograph by Lewis Hine, June 1916

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1917. A 15-year-old girl embroidering curtains at a factory in Boston, Massachusetts. Photograph by Lewis Hine, January 1917

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1911. Young textile mill boys at a cotton mill in Roanoke, Virginia. Photograph by Lewis Hine, May 1911

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1917. 15 year old Gertrude Belier, hemming curtains at a factory in Boston, Massachusetts. Photograph by Lewis Hine, 29 January 1917

HINE: CHILD LABOR, 1916. A 14 year old boy working in the Mule Room at the Berkshire Cotton Mill, Adams, Massachusetts. Photographed by Lewis Hine on 10 July 1916

TEXTILE MILL, 1908. A warper at his machine at the Catawba Cotton Mill in Newton, North Carolina. Photograph by Lewis Hine, December 1908

TEXTILE MILL, 1908. A three-year old daughter of a supervisor visiting at a textile mill in Hickory, North Carolina. Photograph by Lewis Hine, November 1908

TEXTILE MILL, 1908. A warper at his machine in a cotton mill in Newton, North Carolina. Photograph by Lewis Hine, December 1908

TEXTILE MILL, 1916. Spooler tender at the American Linen Company factory, Fall River, Massachusetts. Photograph by Lewis Hine, June 1916

CHINA: CLOTH-MAKING, c1906. The process of separating the threads of cotton in preparation for weaving Nankeen cloth, Nanking, China. Stereograph, c1906

CHINA: CLOTH-MAKING, c1906. Workers preparing the warp for the manufacturing of Nankeen cotton cloth, Nanking, China. Stereograph, c1906

MISSISSIPPI: YARN MILL. A young spinner at a yarn mill in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Photograph by Lewis Hine, May 1911

SYRIA: SILK STORE, c1914. Winding and weighting silk in an oriental silk store, Syria. Stereograph, c1914

LEBANON: SILK MANUFACTURE. Boiling cocoons to loosen fibre ends in Syrias largest silk reeling plant, Mt. Lebanon. Stereograph, c1914

SYRIA: SILK, c1914. Weaving the finest of Syrian silk on a primitive loom, Mt. Lebanon district. Stereograph, c1914

SYRIA: SILK, c1914. Gathering the silk ends, fine-spun as cobwebs, and connecting with reels, Syria. Stereograph, c1914

SYRIA: SILK, c1914. The most primitive reeling tools for silk thread, Mt. Lebanon, Syria. Stereograph, c1914

HINE: TEXTILE MILL, 1911. Interior of the Magnolia Cotton Mill spinning room in Magnolia, Mississippi. Photograph by Lewis Hine, March 1911

SEAMSTRESSES, c1810. Painting by an unknown artist

SEWING, 19th CENTURY. A Tranquil Hour. Etching, late 19th century, after a painting by Wilhelm Hasemann

HUNGARY: GYPSY, c1913. Gypsy mother and baby by the wayside near Orsova, Hungary. Stereograph, c1913

HOPI SPINNER, 1903. A Hopi man spinning cotton in the village of Oraibi, Arizona. Photographed in 1903

COLONIAL SPINNER. Spinning at the hearth of a colonial American home in the 18th century. Drawing by C.W. Jefferys

Picture No. 11091800
Thread Pipefish hanging onto coral Date:

Irish Girl at her spinning wheel Date: circa 1903

WW2 era - Comic Postcard - A little bit behind
" A little bit behind!" - A kind young girl helps her boy chum who has torn his shorts and requires an urgent spot of patching-up! Date: circa 1942

Spinning wool - Tangiers, Morocco Date: circa 1910s

Norway - Traditional Costume - Mother and daughter
Norwegian Mother and daughter (and pet dog!) in traditional dress. Good examples of Hardanger embroidery or Hardangersom - a form of embroidery traditionally worked with white thread on white

Thread and Needle Street, St. Georges, Bermuda
Thread and Needle Street, St. George s, Bermuda Date: circa 1930s

North America, USA, Kentucky, Louisville. Grass Spider in funnel web (Agelenopsis sp)
USA, Kentucky, Louisville. Grass Spider in funnel web (Agelenopsis sp)

Guatemala: San Antonio, weaving on backstrap loom, July

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"From Bookbinding Tools to Sewing Machines: A Thread Through Time" Step into the past and unravel the fascinating history of thread. 📚✂️ In 1875, bookbinding tools meticulously weaved together pages, their delicate threads binding knowledge for generations to come. Fast forward to the 1890s when Singer sewing machines revolutionized the textile industry. An ad from that era showcases how thread became an essential companion in every seamstress's journey. Not only limited to fabrics, various shoemaking tools also relied on this fine strand. Each stitch held shoes together with precision and durability. Traveling across continents, a Welsh woman gracefully spun thread using her spinning wheel in Wales. Her skillful hands transformed raw material into yarn, ready for weaving tales of tradition and heritage. Tailoring tools further exemplified the importance as they shaped garments with meticulous attention to detail. Every stitch told a story of craftsmanship and style. Venturing into Native American culture, witness how Navajo Indian Rugs were crafted in the USA. Intricate patterns emerged through skilled hands intertwining vibrant threads—each rug carrying centuries-old traditions within its fibers. Across oceans lies Paisley's factory—a hub where threads intertwined seamlessly like a symphony conducted by master craftsmen since time immemorial. Le Puy en Velay in France is renowned for traditional lace making since the 15th century. Here, nimble fingers wove intricate designs with delicate threads—a testament to human creativity and patience. Thread transcends borders; it unites cultures worldwide. In India, women spin golden strands on ancient spindles—creating not just fabric but connecting generations through their craftmanship. Returning once again to Le Puy en Velay in Haute-Loire, France—the birthplace of traditional lace making—we witness artisans breathing life into exquisite patterns using nothing but needle and thread—an art form cherished throughout Europe for centuries.