The Power Loom (1779)  

As the progress in inventions in spinning continued, weavers were being supplied by more and more thread – but no machinery to hasten their productivity. In 1760, weavers found it difficult to obtain enough thread to keep themselves in constant employment. However, by 1790, the opposite was true. Spinners reached the point where they began to export their thread to be woven. There were many efforts at inventing a loom, some notable attempts include the ‘Dutch loom' which began weaving ribbons as early as the seventeenth century, and the loom made by a Frenchman named de Gennes in 1678. The breakthrough, however came with Edmund Cartwright.  

Cartwright was an Oxford graduate and aspiring writer, was aided by a blacksmith and carpenter in the creation of a clumsy loom in 1779. Through 1788, Cartwright constantly improved on his loom, patenting as he went along. In 1787, he opened his own small factory with twenty looms. Cartwright, unlike Richard Arkwright, was an inventor and a clumsy businessman; the first factory and successive attempts at other building other factories, were badly opened and run. When faced with aggressive weavers and a series of unfortunate financial events, Cartwright ended his ventures. By this time, in a maze of dishonest debtors and a long list of creditors, Cartwright was completely ruined. However, his invention did not sink with him.  

“Between 1792 and 1800 the power loom was both necessary and unpopular.”  

With Cartwright gone from the scene, the loom was not forgotten. In Glasgow , in 1793, James Lewis Robertson set up two power looms. In 1794, in two power looms, a Dumbarton workshop was set up with 40 power looms, and by 1800, there were factories that housed up to two hundred steam powered looms. The looms, although spreading across the nation, were not supported. They were met by great opposition from the cottage industry that was now threatened by the complete mechanization (and hence better production) of the textile industry.  

For the most part, in addition to hastening the process, the mechanization replaced the weavers with power. Ergo, the main duty of weavers with the power loom was to replace broken threads.  

Though poor, Cartwright was a prolific inventor and created, in addition to constantly improving his power loom, a steam engine powered by alcohol, and a machine for making rope. He also aided in the development of steamboats.  

Sources:

Industrial Revolution . 11 Mar. 2006 . 21 Mar. 2006
< http://www.cottontimes.co.uk/ >.    

The National Archives Learning Curve Center. 2006. Learning Curve. 21 Mar. 2006
< http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/index/default1750.htm >.   

Deane, Phyllis. The First Industrial Revolution . New York : Cambridge University Press, 1965.