Item 6: Crompton & Knowles (?) knife-loom, 1965

Gelatin silver print snapshot. Image depicts a knife-loom in Lancashire, England, for cut moquette weaving. Moquette can be any of several varieties of warp pile fabrics commonly made with the pile of wool or mohair and the ground of cotton; in this case the pile was cut rather than looped. Usually made in upholstery weight and construction, but sometimes applied to certain carpet styles. No maker's name visible, but possibly a Crompton & Knowles loom. A Crompton & Knowles tappet (cam) loom is on the right. The name Crompton & Knowles would place the manufacture of these looms after 1897, when the Crompton Loom Works and the Knowles Loom Works merged into Crompton & Knowles Loom Works. 15.75 x 10 cm.