Editing Jacquard machine (section)

{{Short description|Control device attached to weaving looms}}
{{More footnotes|date=January 2020}}
[[File:A la mémoire de J.M. Jacquard.jpg|thumb|This portrait of [[Joseph Marie Jacquard|Jacquard]] was woven in [[silk]] on a Jacquard loom and required 24,000 punched cards to create (1839). It was only produced to order. [[Charles Babbage]] owned one of these portraits; it inspired him in using perforated cards in his [[Analytical Engine]].<ref>Hyman, Anthony, ed. ''Science and Reform: Selected Works of Charles Babbage'', Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1989, p. 298.</ref> It is in the collection of the Science Museum in London, England.<ref name=Delve99>{{cite journal |last=Delve |first=Janet |title=Joseph Marie Jacquard: Inventor of the Jacquard loom |journal=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing |volume=29 |issue=99 |year=2007 |pages=x12 |publisher=Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) |doi=10.1109/mahc.2007.4343549 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/mahc.2007.4343549 |issn=1058-6180|url-access=subscription }}</ref>]]

The '''Jacquard machine''' ({{IPA|fr|ʒakaʁ|lang}}) is a device fitted to a [[loom]] that simplifies the process of manufacturing [[textiles]] with such complex patterns as [[brocade]], [[damask]] and [[matelassé]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christinalynn.com/fabric-glossary.shtml |title=Fabric Glossary |access-date=2008-11-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105170019/http://www.christinalynn.com/fabric-glossary.shtml |archive-date=January 5, 2009 }}</ref> The resulting ensemble of the loom and Jacquard machine is then called a '''Jacquard loom'''. The machine was patented by [[Joseph Marie Jacquard]] in 1804,<ref>Eric Hobsbawm, "The Age of Revolution", (London 1962; repr. 2008), p.45.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schoenherr |first=Steven |title=Jacquard's Punched Card |url=http://www.aes-media.org/historical/html/recording.technology.history/jacquard1.html |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=www.aes-media.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=The Jacquard Mechanism: Innovation |url=https://macclesfieldmuseums.co.uk/the-jacquard-mechanism-innovation |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=Macclesfield Museums |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Keranen |first=Rachel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BHdmDwAAQBAJ&q=%22jacquard%20loom%22%201804 |title=Inventions in Computing: From the Abacus to Personal Computers |date=2016 |publisher=Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC |isbn=978-1-5026-2301-0 |pages=41–43 |language=en}}</ref> based on earlier inventions by the Frenchmen [[Basile Bouchon]] (1725), Jean Baptiste Falcon (1728), and [[Jacques Vaucanson]] (1740).<ref>[[Jacquard loom#RAZY|C. Razy]] p.120 (1913)</ref> The machine was controlled by a "chain of cards"; a number of [[punched card]]s laced together into a continuous sequence.<ref>{{cite journal 
|journal       = Newton's London Journal of Arts and Sciences 
|date          = January 1, 1866
|volume        = 23
|page          = 334 
|location      = London
|title         = To James Melvin, of Pinlaws, County Fife, N.B., for improvements in jacquard machines.&mdash;[dated 10th May, 1865.]
|url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=ElUEAAAAQAAJ&q=%22chain+of+cards%22 
|editor1-last  = Newton 
|editor1-first = William}}</ref> Multiple rows of holes were punched on each card, with one complete card corresponding to one row of the design. 

Both the Jacquard process and the necessary loom attachment are named after their inventor. This mechanism is probably one of the most important [[weaving]] innovations, as Jacquard [[shed (weaving)|shedding]] made possible the automatic production of unlimited varieties of complex pattern weaving. The term "Jacquard" is not specific or limited to any particular loom, but rather refers to the added control mechanism that automates the patterning. The process can also be used for patterned knitwear and machine-knitted textiles such as [[jersey (fabric)|jersey]]s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Parrillo Chapman|first=Lisa|title=Textile Design Engineering Within the Product Shape|year=2008|isbn=978-1109003987|pages=69–70|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QaHxO8qgZFYC&q=jacquard+knitting&pg=PA69}}</ref>

This use of replaceable [[punched cards]] to control a sequence of operations is considered an important step in the [[history of computing hardware]], having inspired [[Charles Babbage]]'s [[Analytical Engine]].