Needle, Knitting Machine

Object Name: Needle, Knitting Machine

Object ID: 2015.011

Creator: Franklin Needle Company

Place of Origin: Franklin, NH

Date: 1920 circa

Description: Knitting machine latch needles in box. "FRANKLIN LATCH NEEDLES / FRANKLIN NEEDLE COMPANY / FRANKLIN, N.H. U.S.A" printed in black and red on paper cover of rectangular cardboard box. Box contains 74 machine-made steel latch knitting needles.

Material: Metal
Steel

Dimensions: H-1.6 W-2 L-3.6 inches

Provenance: Inventor and entrepreneur Walter Aiken (1831-1893) perfected two revolutionary pieces of knitting equipment: the circular knitting machine and the latch needle. These developments led to the construction of the Aiken Hosiery Mill on East Bow Street in Franklin in 1864. Walter Aiken's inventions also spawned the growth of related manufacturing businesses, including the Franklin Needle Company. Established in 1874 and incorporated in 1882, for many years it was the world's largest latch needle manufacturing factory, employing two hundred workers. The market for machinery and materials related to industrial knitting declined in America beginning during the Great Depression and the company and its assets were eventually liquidated in 1954.

Credit Line: Gift of Valerie A. McQuillan

Subjects: Hosiery industry, Knitting

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