Centralne Muzeum Włókiennictwa

Department of Textile Techniques

The fundamental director of collecting objects are textile tools and machines as they were used in the Łódź region. Thus, the major part of the collection is related to the development of industry, the specific character of the region – the processing of cotton in the second half of the 19^th century and in the following century.

This is the biggest collection of the kind in Poland. Presently, after many years of collection, we have separate sets, which are the effect of the activities of the museum’s employees.

At the beginning of the museum’s history, typical objects were acquired, representative of and documenting the development of the technical ideas and progress in technique in various production cycles, especially in spinning and weaving. Presently, the sets of our collection are the biggest in Poland, moreover, they are complete and document development of technical thought. Here, we have rare examples, preserved as unique objects, ex.: loom of the Łódź company owned by Moritz Bauer dating from 1910, or self-spinning cart loom by Wede company dating from 1866. Older objects have not been preserved. They were not there already in the 1950s, when the collection of such objects was started. Out of necessity, tools and appliances precisely reconstructed replace the originals – either in natural size or as miniatures, technically ready to working. They can be set in motion and shown working and illustrate consequent stages of the production process. This part of the collection does not represent the value of the original, yet its illustrative, didactic and exhibition value remains unquestioned.

The collection of the department seems to be moderate in size – it includes some 700 inventory numbers. Yet, many of them are sets, or complexes of appliances for a given production stage. It happens that under one inventory  position there are several, a dozen or even several dozens of objects, hidden.

The collection documents well the development of technique in four basic production areas: spinning, weaving, knitting and finishing. We also have single machines or appliances preceding production cycles – from the so-called preparatory departments. Among them rarities such, as wooden carding roller machine from Platt company dating from 1850 (leading company in the textile machine branch). Other early machines, such as twister, winder-spooler are examples of adequate constructions made in big textile mills in Łódź with the full scope of departments. At the same time, these are examples of coping with import surcharges, which prohibited importing machines from the West.

Finishing in textile industry was always expanded and included many processes depending on the character of the intended final product. We shall concentrate on the hand- and machine-printing of textiles. In our collection you will find a complete professional set of tools for making blocks (stamps) for printing. It is also the set of stamps for hand printing and a partly mechanical process. Printing table documents the early stage of mechanization. As far as construction is concerned, it is a very interesting mechanism for double colour printing. Another tool, unique in Polish collections, is perrotine – a mechanism for plate printing. In the collection of the department we have a set of machines dating back to the end of the 19^th century for making patterns on copper printing rollers with the use of knurling method and a set of tools themselves. It is interesting to know that these tools were used very long, until 1990s. The collection also includes pantograph with a set of plates for transferring patterns on to the printing roller.

The collection of tools and machines boasts of other unique objects, ex.: wooden cottonizing machine for making seam stockings and a set of four small machines for processing wool (all of them from the beginning of the 20^th century).

Another unique collection includes tools for textile metrology, among them many rarities, used in research centres for examining chemical and physical characteristics of fibres.

Due to the weight and size of machines, thematic or temporary exhibitions are not often organized. Therefore, the most important objects illustrating the development and progress in textile technique are displayed at the permanent exhibition entitles “Textile tools and machines in the collection of the Central Museum of Textiles”. In the course of every year we change the exhibits in order to show recent acquisitions and those, which returned from conservation.

The second exhibition “Weaving room from the end of the 19^th century – machines in motion” introduces the visitors into the atmosphere and reality of that epoch”.

Jan Głowacki

Senior Curator

Head of Department of Textile Techniques