Mary Ellen's Tidbits

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Vintage Spinning Wheel




































I have in my possession this vintage spinning wheel. It belonged to my children's grandmother who was born in 1909. I married into this family in 1960 and it always sit in front of her fireplace in the living room. I don't know how long she had it, but she was always quite proud of it. She was an antique collector and loved her antiques.

This old spinning wheel appears to be in very good shape. The treadle on the bottom looks quite worn as if it has seen many hours of use. I don't know the manufacturer or the year it was made. I'm guess it was made around 1880. This old spinning wheel has always intrigued me.

Wikipedia describes this type of spinning wheel as a Treadle Wheel:

"This type of wheel is powered by the spinner's foot rather than their hand or a motor. The spinner sits and pumps a foot treadle that turns the drive wheel via a crankshaft and a connecting rod. This leaves both hands free for drafting the fibers, which is necessary in the short draw spinning technique, which is often used on this type of wheel. The old-fashioned pointed distaff spindle is not a common feature of the treadle wheel. Instead, most modern wheels employ a flyer-and-bobbin system which twists the yarn and winds it onto a spool simultaneously. These wheels can be single- or double-treadle; which is a matter of preference and does not affect the operation of the wheel."

I would really like to know the manufacturer, date and value of this old spinning wheel. If anyone reading this knows something about it, I would love to know.

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