Editing Jacquard machine

{{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]].

==History==
[[File:A Jacquard loom showing information punchcards, National Museum of Scotland.jpg|thumb|left|A Jacquard loom showing information punchcards, National Museum of Scotland]]

Traditionally, figured designs were made on a [[drawloom]]. The [[heddle]]s with warp ends to be pulled up were manually selected by a second operator, the draw boy, not the weaver. The work was slow and labour-intensive, and the complexity of the pattern was limited by practical factors.
	
The first prototype of a Jacquard-type loom was made in the second half of the 15th century by an [[Italy|Italian]] weaver from [[Calabria]], Jean le Calabrais, who was invited to [[Lyon]] by [[Louis XI of France|Louis XI]].<ref>{{cite book |language=it |last=Rubino |first=Angela |date=2006 |title=La seta a Catanzaro e Lione. Echi lontani e attività presente |publisher=Calabria Letteraria|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kOGJKQAACAAJ&q=seta+catanzaro|isbn= 8875741271|trans-title=Silk in [[Catanzaro]] and Lyon. Distant echoes and present activity}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fetmode.fr/cvmt/metiersUS.htm|title=Métiers à tisser, Conservatoire des Vieux Métier du Textile|access-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> He introduced a new kind of machine which was able to work the yarns faster and more precisely. Over the years, improvements to the loom were ongoing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://media.handweaving.net/DigitalArchive/books/wp_Chapter_01.pdf|title=A Brief History of Figured Textile Production|access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref>

An improvement of the draw loom took place in 1725, when [[Basile Bouchon]] introduced the principle of applying a perforated band of paper. A continuous roll of paper was punched by hand, in sections, each of which represented one lash or tread, and the length of the roll was determined by the number of shots in each repeat of pattern. The Jacquard machine then evolved from this approach.

Joseph Marie Jacquard saw that a [[mechanism (technology)|mechanism]] could be developed for the production of sophisticated patterns. He possibly combined mechanical elements of other inventors, but certainly innovated. His machine was generally similar to [[Vaucanson]]'s arrangement, but he made use of Jean-Baptiste Falcon's individual [[pasteboard]] cards and his square prism (or card "cylinder"): he is credited with having fully perforated each of its four sides, replacing Vaucanson's perforated "barrel". Jacquard's machine contained eight rows of needles and uprights, where Vaucanson had a double row. This modification enabled him to increase the figuring capacity of the machine. In his first machine, he supported the harness by knotted cords, which he elevated by a single trap board.

One of the chief advantages claimed for the Jacquard machine was that unlike previous damask-weaving machines, in which the figuring shed was usually drawn once for every four shots, with the new apparatus, it could be drawn on every shot, thus producing a fabric with greater definition of outline.<ref>Bradbury, Fred (1912). ''Jacquard Mechanisms and Harness Mounting''. John Heywood Ltd., Technical Book Depot, Halifax, Yorks.</ref>

Jacquard's invention had a deep influence on [[Charles Babbage]]. In that respect, he is viewed by some authors as a precursor of modern [[computing]] technology.<ref>Essinger, James (2004). ''Jacquard's web''. Oxford University Press, Oxford. {{ISBN|978-0-19-280578-2}}</ref>

==Principles of operation==
[[File:Jacquard 2.jpg|thumb| A schematic diagram of the Jacquard system]]
[[File:Telaio Jacquard 1849.jpg|thumb|19th century [[Engineering drawing]] of a Jacquard loom]]

As shown in the diagram, the cards are fastened into a continuous chain (1) which passes over a square box. At each quarter rotation, a new card is presented to the Jacquard head which represents one row (one "pick" of the [[shuttle (weaving)|shuttle]] carrying the [[weft]]). The box swings from the right to the position shown and presses against the control rods (2). For each hole in the card, a rod passes through and is unmoved; where there is no hole, a rod is pushed to the left. Each rod acts upon a hook (3). When the rod is pushed in, the hook moves out of position to the left; a rod that is not pushed in leaves its hook in place.  A beam (4) then rises under the hooks, and the hooks in the rest position are raised. The hooks that have been displaced are not moved by the beam. Each hook can have multiple cords (5). Each cord passes through a guide (6) and is attached to a corresponding [[heddle]] (7) and return weight (8). The heddles raise the [[Warp (weaving)|warp]] to create the [[shed (weaving)|shed]] through which the shuttle carrying the weft will pass.<ref>{{Citation |last=Victoria and Albert Museum |title=How was it Made? Jacquard weaving |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6NgMNvK52A |publication-date=2015-10-08 |publisher=Youtube |language=en |access-date=2022-06-18}}</ref> A loom with a 400-hook head might have four threads connected to each hook, resulting in a fabric that is 1600 [[Warp (weaving)|warp]] ends wide with four repeats of the weave going across.

The term "Jacquard loom" is somewhat inaccurate.  It is the "Jacquard head" that adapts to a great many [[dobby loom]]s that allow the weaving machine to then create the intricate patterns often seen in Jacquard weaving.

Jacquard-driven looms, although relatively common in the textile industry, are not as ubiquitous as dobby looms which are usually faster and much cheaper to operate. However, dobby looms are not capable of producing many different weaves from one [[Warp (weaving)|warp]]. Modern jacquard machines are controlled by computers in place of the original punched cards and can have thousands of hooks.

The threading of a Jacquard machine is so labor-intensive that many looms are threaded only once. Subsequent [[Warp (weaving)|warp]]s are then tied into the existing warp with the help of a knotting robot which ties on each new thread individually. Even for a small loom with only a few thousand [[Warp (weaving)|warp ends]], the process of re-threading can take days.

==Mechanical Jacquard devices==
[[File:Jacquard.loom.cards.jpg|right|thumb|Punched cards in use in a Jacquard loom]]
[[File:Masson Mills WTM 10 Jacquard Card Cutter 5890.JPG|thumb|left|A punch for Jacquard cards]]

Originally, Jacquard machines were [[machine|mechanical]], and the fabric design was stored on a series of [[punched card]]s which were joined to form a continuous chain. The Jacquards were often small and controlled relatively few warp ends. This required a number of repeats across the loom width. Larger capacity machines, or the use of multiple machines, allowed greater control with fewer repeats; hence, larger designs could be woven across the loom width.

A [[factory]] must choose looms and shedding mechanisms to suit its commercial requirements. As a rule, greater warp control means greater expense. So it is not economical to purchase Jacquard machines if one can make do with a [[Dobby loom|dobby mechanism]]. Beyond the capital expense, Jacquard machines cost more to maintain as they are complex, require highly-skilled operators, and use expensive systems to prepare designs for the loom. Thus, they are more likely to produce faults than dobby or cam shedding. Also, the looms will not run as quickly and down-time will increase because it takes time to change the continuous chain of cards when a design changes. It is best to weave larger batches with mechanical Jacquards.

==Electronic Jacquard machines==
{{more citations needed|section|date=October 2020}}

In 1855, a Frenchman<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/irishlinentrade00smitgoog|title=The Irish linen trade hand-book and directory|publisher=W. H. Greer, 1876|accessdate=June 11, 2023|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> adapted the Jacquard mechanism to a system by which it could be worked by electro-magnets. There was significant interest, but trials were not successful, and the development was soon forgotten.

Bonas Textile Machinery NV launched the first successful electronic Jacquard at ITMA [[Milan]] in 1983.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bonas Textile Machinery NV - About Us |url=https://www.bonas.be/en/about-us |access-date=8 October 2020 |website=bonas.be |archive-date=11 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211233551/http://www.bonas.be/en/about-us |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{efn|According to its operators (CEMATEX, {{lang|fr|Le Comité Européen des Constructeurs de Machines Textiles}}, an organisation comprising 9 national European textile machinery associations) ITMA is "the world's largest international textile and garment technology exhibition".<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.cematex.com/about-itma | title= About ITMA | website = Cematex.com | access-date= 8 October 2020}}</ref>}} Although the machines were initially small, modern technology has allowed Jacquard machine capacity to increase significantly, and single end warp control can extend to more than 10,000 warp ends.<ref>{{Cite journal |first=R G|last=Panneerselvam|date=16 Jul 2020|title=Use of indigenous electronic jacquard in handloom for weaving fashionable silk sarees |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344151421|journal=Dogo Rangsang Research Journal|volume=10|pages=84|via=UGC Care Group}}</ref> This eliminates the need for repeats and symmetrical designs and invites almost infinite versatility. The computer-controlled machines significantly reduce the down time associated with changing punchcards, thereby allowing smaller batch sizes. However, electronic Jacquards are costly and may not be necessary in a factory weaving large batch sizes and smaller designs. Larger machines accommodating single-end warp control are very expensive and can only be justified when great versatility or very specialized designs are required. For example, they are an ideal tool to increase the ability and versatility of niche linen Jacquard weavers who remain active in Europe and the West, while most large batch commodity weaving has moved to low-cost production.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

[[Linen]] products associated with Jacquard weaving are linen damask napery, Jacquard apparel fabrics and damask bed linen. Jacquard weaving uses all sorts of fibers and blends of fibers, and it is used in the production of fabrics for many end uses. Jacquard weaving can also be used to create fabrics that have a [[Matelassé]] or a [[brocade]] pattern.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jacquard Fabric — What Is a Jacquard? - Sailrite|url=https://www.sailrite.com/What-Is-a-Jacquard|access-date=2020-09-16|website=www.sailrite.com}}</ref>

== The woven silk prayer book ==

A pinnacle of production using a Jacquard machine is a prayer book, woven in silk, entitled {{lang|fr|Livre de Prières. Tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Livre de Prières. Tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle |url=https://archive.org/details/92123-000001-sap-combined |website=Internet Archive |access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref> All 58 pages of the prayer book were woven silk, made with a Jacquard machine using black and gray thread, at 160 threads per cm (400 threads per inch). The pages have elaborate borders with text and pictures of saints. According to book historian Michael Laird, an estimated 106,000 to 500,000 punchcards were necessary to encode the pages.<ref name="WorldCat page of the Livre de Prières">{{cite web|title= WorldCat page of the Livre de Prières. |url= https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/948879235| website=WorldCat|access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref>

[[File:92123 000001 sap-combined-pages-1.png|thumb|A page from the ''Livre de Prières''.]]

The book was issued in 1886 and 1887 in Lyon, France, and was publicly displayed at the 1889 ''Exposition Universelle'' (World's Fair). It was designed by R.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;J. Hervier, woven by J.&nbsp;A. Henry, and published by A.&nbsp;Roux.<ref name="WorldCat page of the Livre de Prières"/>  It took two years and almost 50 trials to get correct. An estimated 50 or 60 copies were produced.

The manufacture of the volume employed the Jacquard method of using punch cards which J.A. Henry first used in {{lang|fr|Les laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn. Reproduit en caractères tissés avec license des propriétaires éditeurs}} (by [[Alphonse de Lamartine]]) in 1878. That earlier title is the true "first book 'printed' by computer".<ref>{{cite web| title=Les laboureurs : poème tiré de Jocelyn| url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k3264109 |website=Gallica| access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref>

==Importance in computing==
The Jacquard head used replaceable [[punched cards]] to control a sequence of operations. It is considered an important step in the [[history of computing hardware]].<ref>{{cite book
  |title=Jacquard's Web: How a hand-loom led to the birth of the information age
  |last=Essinger
  |first=James
  |year=2004
  |publisher=Oxford University Press
  |location=Oxford
  |isbn=0-19-280577-0
  |url-access=registration
  |url=https://archive.org/details/jacquardswebhowh0000essi
  }}</ref>  The ability to change the pattern of the loom's weave by simply changing cards was an important conceptual precursor to the development of [[computer programming]] and data entry. [[Charles Babbage]] knew of Jacquard machines and planned to use cards to store programs in his [[Analytical Engine]]. In the late 19th century, [[Herman Hollerith]] took the idea of using punched cards to store information a step further when he created a punched card tabulating machine which he used to input data for the [[1890 U.S. Census]]. A large data processing industry using punched-card technology was developed in the first half of the twentieth century{{mdash}}dominated initially by the [[International Business Machine]] corporation (IBM) with its line of [[unit record equipment]]. The cards were used for data, however, with programming done by [[plugboard]]s.

Some early computers, such as the 1944 [[IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator]] (Harvard Mark I) received program instructions from a paper tape punched with holes, similar to Jacquard's string of cards. Later computers executed programs from higher-speed memory, though cards were commonly used to load the programs into memory. Punched cards remained in use in computing up until the mid-1980s.

==See also==
* [[Thomas Ferguson & Co Ltd]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book
|url=https://archive.org/details/jacquardmachines00amer
|title=Jacquard machines; instruction paper 
|last=Nelson |first=Hector William
|year=1909
|place=Chicago
|publisher=American School of Correspondence
}}
*{{cite book
|url=https://archive.org/details/jacquardmachinea00poss
|title=The Jacquard machine analyzed and explained: with an appendix on the preparation of Jacquard cards 
|last=Posselt 
|author-link=Emanuel Anthony Posselt 
|first=Emanuel Anthony
|year=1887
|place=Philadelphia
|publisher=Pennsylvania museum and school of industrial art
}}
*{{cite book
|url=https://archive.org/details/gri_33125000604195
|title=The Jacquard Machine Analyzed & Explained. The preparation of Jacquard cards and practical hints to learners of Jacquard designing 
|last=Posselt |first=Emanuel Anthony
|place=Philadelphia
|year=1893
|publisher=Philadelphia, Posselt 
}}
* {{cite book | ref = RAZY | last = Razy | first = C. | title = Étude analytique des petits modèles de métiers exposés au musée des tissus | year = 1913 | publisher = Musée historique des tissus | location = Lyon, France}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|auto=yes}}
* Posselt, Emanuel A. (1892) [http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/ref/collection/eng_tech/id/3983 ''The Jacquard machine analyzed and explained: the preparation of Jacquard cards and practical hints to learners of Jacquard designing''] – digital facsimile from the [[Linda Hall Library]]
* [https://Cematex.com CEMATEX], European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers (and owners of the ITMA exhibition).

{{Weaving}}

[[Category:Weaving]]
[[Category:Textile machinery]]
[[Category:History of technology]]
[[Category:Weaving equipment]]
[[Category:1804 introductions]]
[[Category:French inventions]]
[[Category:History of art]]