The Manchester Historical Society has obtained two large Jacquard looms, a dobby loom, a narrow-fabric loom, and other textile equipment, and is in the process of creating its Loom Exhibit on the lower level of The History Center, 175 Pine Street. The exhibit will illustrate the significance of textile mills in New England’s history, the Cheney silk mills’ importance in this history both nationally and internationally, and the interrelation to other cultures’ textile history.
The looms that are the central part of this exhibit came from Scalamandre in New York, and are similar to the looms that operated in the Cheney silk mills. Paula Lajaunie Viscogliosi, chairperson of the Friends of the Looms and Art Director of the project, and her husband, Anthony Viscogliosi, obtained and donated the Jacquard looms and related machines to the Historical Society in January 2005. This equipment is the centerpiece of the exhibit. The exhibit will tell the story of Manchester’s mills and their relation to textile mills in our New England culture and history.
The loom exhibit includes photographs, hands-on displays, a video, and interpretive features. See article in the May 2005 Courier newsletter.
The Loom Exhibit is located on the lower level (Forest Street side) of the History Center.
