[Illustration:
_Plate I._
_From Original Drawings_
CHINESE LOOMS.
_See Page 119._]
THE
HISTORY
OF
SILK, COTTON, LINEN, WOOL,
AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;
INCLUDING OBSERVATIONS ON
SPINNING, DYEING AND WEAVING.
ALSO AN ACCOUNT OF THE
PASTORAL LIFE OF THE ANCIENTS, THEIR SOCIAL STATE
AND ATTAINMENTS IN THE DOMESTIC ARTS.
WITH APPENDICES
ON PLINY’S NATURAL HISTORY;
ON THE ORIGIN AND MANUFACTURE OF LINEN AND COTTON PAPER;
ON FELTING, NETTING, &C.
DEDUCED FROM COPIOUS AND AUTHENTIC SOURCES.
ILLUSTRATED BY STEEL ENGRAVINGS.
NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, 82 CLIFF STREET.
1845.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1845,
BY HARPER & BROTHERS,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States,
for the Southern District of New York.
TO THE
PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES,
THIS VOLUME
IS RESPECTFULLY
INSCRIBED.
PREFACE.
History, until a recent period, was mainly a record of gigantic crimes
and their consequent miseries. The dazzling glow of its narrations
lighted never the path of the peaceful Husbandman, as his noiseless,
incessant exertions transformed the howling wilderness into a blooming
and fruitful garden, but gleamed and danced on the armor of the
Warrior as he rode forth to devastate and destroy. One year of his
labors sufficed to undo what the former had patiently achieved through
centuries; and the campaign was duly chronicled while the labors it
blighted were left to oblivion. The written annals of a nation trace
vividly the course of its corruption and downfall, but are silent or
meagre with regard to the ultimate causes of its growth and eminence.
The long periods of peace and prosperity in which the Useful Arts were
elaborated or perfected are passed over with the bare remark that
they afford little of interest to the reader, when in fact their true
history, could it now be written, would prove of the deepest and most
substantial value. The world might well afford to lose all record of
a hundred ancient battles or sieges if it could thereby regain the
knowledge of one lost art, and even the Pyramids bequeathed to us by
Egypt in her glory would be well exchanged for a few of her humble
workshops and manufactories, as they stood in the days of the Pharaohs.
Of the true history of mankind only a few chapters have yet been
written, and now, when the deficiencies of that we have are beginning
to be realized, we find that the materials for supplying them have in
good part perished in the lapse of time, or been trampled recklessly
beneath the hoof of the war-horse.
In the following pages, an effort has been made to restore a portion
of this history, so far as the meagre and careless traces scattered
through the Literature of Antiquity will allow.--Of the many beneficent
achievements of inventive genius, those which more immediately minister
to the personal convenience and comfort of mankind seem to assert a
natural pre-eminence. Among the first under this head may be classed
the invention of Weaving, with its collateral branches of Spinning,
Netting, Sewing, Felting, and Dyeing. An account of the origin and
progress of this family of domestic arts can hardly fail to interest
the intelligent reader, while it would seem to have a special claim on
the attention of those engaged in the prosecution or improvement of
these arts. This work is intended to subserve the ends here indicated.
In the present age, when the resources of Science and of Intellect have
so largely pressed into the service of Mechanical Invention, especially
with reference to the production of fabrics from fibrous substances, it
is somewhat remarkable that no methodical treatise on this topic has
been offered to the public, and that the topic itself seems to have
almost eluded the investigations of the learned. With the exception of
Mr. Yates’s erudite production, “_Textrinum Antiquorum_,” we possess no
competent work on the subject; and valuable as is this production for
its authority and profound research, it is yet, for various reasons, of
comparative inutility to the general reader.
That a topic of such interest deserved elucidation will not be denied
when it is remembered that, apart from the question of the direct
influence these important arts have ever exerted upon the civilization
and social condition of communities, in various ages of the world,
there are other and scarcely inferior considerations to the student,
involved in their bearing upon the true understanding of history,
sacred and profane. To supply, therefore, an important desideratum in
classical archæology, by thus seeking the better to illustrate the true
social state of the ancients, thereby affording a commentary on their
commerce and progress in domestic arts, is one of the leading objects
contemplated by the present work. In addition to this, our better
acquaintance with the actual condition of these arts in early times
will tend, in many instances, to confirm the historic accuracy and
elucidate the idiom of many portions of Holy Writ.
How many of the grandest discoveries in the scientific world owe their
existence to accident! and how many more of the boasted creations of
human skill have proved to be but restorations of lost or forgotten
arts! How much also is still being revealed to us by the monumental
records of the old world, whose occult glyphs, till recently, defied
the most persevering efforts of the learned for their solution!
To be told that the Egyptians, four thousand years ago, were cunning
artificers in many of the pursuits which constitute lucrative branches
of our modern industry, might surprise some readers: yet we learn from
undoubted authorities that such they were. They also were acquainted
with the fabrication of crapes, transparent tissues, cotton, silk, and
paper, as well as the art of preparing colors which still continue to
defy the corrosions of defacing time.
If the _spider_ may be regarded as the earliest practical weaver upon
record--the generic name _Textoriæ_, supplying the root from which is
clearly derived the English terms, _texture_ and _textile_, as applied
to woven fabrics, of whatever materials they may be composed--the
_wasp_ may claim the honor of having been the first paper-manufacturer,
for he presents us with a most undoubted specimen of clear white
pasteboard, of so smooth a surface as to admit of being written upon
with ease and legibility. Would the superlative wisdom of man but
deign, with microscopic gaze, to study the ingenious movements of the
insect tribe more minutely, it would not be easy to estimate how much
might thereby be achieved for human science, philosophy, and even
morals!
For those who love to add to their fund of general knowledge,
especially in the department of natural history, the author trusts that
much valuable and interesting information will be found comprised in
those pages of this work which delineate the habits of the Silk-Worm,
the Sheep, the Goat, the Camel, the Beaver, &c.; while another
department, being devoted to the history of the Pastoral Life of the
Ancients, will naturally enlist the sympathies of such as take a deeper
interest in the records of ages and nations long since passed away.
From a mass of heterogeneous, though highly valuable materials, it has
been the design of the author to select, arrange, and conserve all
that was apposite to his subject and of intrinsic value. Thus has he
endeavored to render the piles of antiquity, to adopt the words of a
recent writer, well compacted--a process which has been begun in our
times, and with such eminent success that even the men of the present
age may live to see many of the thousand and one folios of the ancients
handed over without a sigh to the trunk-maker.
The ample domains of Learning are fast being submitted to fresh
irrigation and renewed culture,--the exclusiveness of the cloister has
given place to an unrestricted distribution of the intellectual wealth
of all times. What civilization has accomplished in the physical is
also being achieved in the mental world. The sterile and inaccessible
wilderness is transformed into the well-tilled garden, abounding
in luxurious fruits and fragrant flowers. It is the golden age of
knowledge--its Paradise Regained. The ponderous works of the olden time
have been displaced by the condensing process of modern literature;
yielding us their spirit and essence, without the heavy, obscuring
folds of their former verbal drapery. We want real and substantial
knowledge; but we are a labor-saving and a time-economizing people,--it
must therefore be obtained by the most compendious processes. Except
those with whom learning is the business of life, we are too generally
ignorant of the mighty mysteries which Nature has heaped around
our path; ignorant, too, of many of the discoveries of science and
philosophy, in ancient as well as modern times. To meet the exigencies
of our day, a judgment in the selection and condensation of works
designed for popular use is demanded--a facility like that of the
alchymist, extracting from the crude ores of antiquity the fine gold of
true knowledge.
The plan of this work naturally divides itself into four departments.
The first division is devoted to the consideration of _Silk_, its
early history and cultivation in China and various other parts of the
world; illustrated by copious citations from ancient writers: From
among whom to instance Homer, we learn that embroidery and tapestry
were prominent arts with the Thebans, that poet deriving many of his
pictures of domestic life from the paintings which have been found to
ornament their palaces. Thus it is evident that some of the proudest
attainments of art in our own day date their origin from a period
coeval at least with the Iliad. Again we find that the use of the
distaff and spindle, referred to in the Sacred Scriptures, was almost
as well understood in Egypt as it now is in India; while the factory
system, so far from being a modern invention, was in full operation,
and conducted under patrician influence, some three thousand years
ago. The Arabians also, even so far back as five centuries subsequent
to the deluge, were, it is stated on credible authority, skilled in
fabricating silken textures; while, at a period scarcely less remote,
we possess irrefragable testimony in favor of their knowledge of paper
made from cotton rags. The inhabitants of Phœnicia and Tyre were, it
appears, the first acquainted with the process of dyeing: the Tyrian
purple, so often noticed by writers, being of so gorgeous a hue as to
baffle description. The Persians were also prodigal in their indulgence
in vestments of gold, embroidery and silk: the memorable army of Darius
affording an instance of sumptuous magnificence in this respect. An
example might also be given of the extravagance of the Romans in
the third century, in the fact of a pound of silk being estimated
literally by its weight in gold. The nuptial robes of Maria, wife of
Honorius, which were discovered in her coffin at Rome in 1544, on being
burnt, yielded 36 pounds of pure gold! In the work here presented,
much interesting as well as valuable information is given under this
section, respecting the cultivation and manufacture of Silk in China,
Greece and other countries.
The second division of the work, comprising the history of the
_Sheep_, _Goat_, _Camel_, and _Beaver_, it is hoped will also be found
curious and valuable. The ancient history of the _Cotton_ manufacture
follows--a topic that has enlisted the pens of many writers, though
their essays, with two or three exceptions, merit little notice. The
subsequent pages embody many new and important facts, connected with
its early history and progress, derived from sources inaccessible
to the general reader. The fourth and last division, embracing the
history of the _Linen_ manufacture, includes notices of _Hemp_, _Flax_,
_Asbestos_, &c. This department again affords a fruitful theme for the
curious, and one that will be deemed, perhaps, not the least attractive
of the volume. Completing the design of the work, will be found the
Appendices, comprising rare and valuable extracts, derived from
unquestionable authorities.
Of the _Ten Illustrations_ herewith presented, five are entirely
original. It is hoped that these, at least, will be deemed worthy the
attention of the scholar as well as of the general reader, and that
their value will not be limited by their utility as elucidations of
the text. Among these, especial notice is requested to the engraving
of the Chinese Loom, a reduced fac-simile, copied by permission from a
magnificent Chinese production, recently obtained from the Celestial
Empire, and now in the possession of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign
Missions in this city. Another, equally worthy of notice, represents an
Egyptian weaving factory, with the processes of Spinning and Winding;
also a reduced fac-simile, copied from _Champollion’s_ great work on
Egypt. The Spider, magnified with his web, and the Indian Loom, it is
presumed, will not fail to attract attention.
Throughout the entire work, the most diligent care has been used in the
collation of the numerous authorities cited, as well as a rigid regard
paid to their veracity. As a work so elaborate in its character would
necessarily have to depend, to a considerable extent, for its facts
and illustrations, upon the labors of previous writers, the author
deems no apology necessary in thus publicly and gratefully avowing his
indebtedness to the several authors cited in order at the foot of his
pages; but he would especially mention the eminent name of Mr. Yates,
to the fruits of whose labors the present production owes much of its
novelty, attractiveness, and intrinsic value.
_New York, Oct. 1st, 1845._
CONTENTS.
PART FIRST.
ANCIENT HISTORY OF SILK.
CHAPTER I.
SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING.
Whether Silk is mentioned in the Old Testament--Earliest
Clothing--Coats of Skin, Tunic, Simla--Progress of Invention--Chinese
chronology relative to the Culture of Silk--Exaggerated
statements--Opinions of Mailla, Le Sage, M. Lavoisnè, Rev. J. Robinson,
Dr. A. Clarke, Rev. W. Hales, D.D., Mairan, Bailly, Guignes, and Sir
William Jones--Noah supposed to be the first emperor of China--Extracts
from Chinese publications--Silk Manufactures of the Island of
Cos--Described by Aristotle--Testimony of Varro--Spinning and Weaving
in Egypt--Great ingenuity of Bezaleel and Aholiab in the production of
Figured Textures for the Jewish Tabernacle--Skill of the Sidonian women
in the Manufacture of Ornamental Textures--Testimony of Homer--Great
antiquity of the Distaff and Spindle--The prophet Ezekiel’s account
of the Broidered Stuffs, etc. of the Egyptians--Beautiful eulogy on
an industrious woman--Helen the Spartan, her superior skill in the
art of Embroidery--Golden Distaff presented her by the Egyptian queen
Alcandra--Spinning a domestic occupation in Miletus--Theocritus’s
complimentary verses to Theuginis on her industry and virtue--Taste
of the Roman and Grecian ladies in the decoration of their Spinning
Implements--Ovid’s testimony to the skill of Arachne in Spinning and
Weaving--Method of Spinning with the Distaff--Described by Homer and
Catullus--Use of Silk in Arabia 500 years after the flood--Forster’s
testimony 1