This birch and mahogany spinning wheel is decorated with ivory mounts. The treadle at the base of the wheel allows the spinner to set the wheel spinning with the foot. This leaves the hands free to regulate the flow of thread.
Three-legged spinning-wheel of birch and mahogany, mounted with ivory
Until the middle of the nineteenth century by far the greatest part of Scotland's population was occupied in either textile manufacture or in agriculture. Spinning and weaving were, for most people, the two most important tasks outside food production.
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