John Duncan ( fl. 1800–1818) was a Scottish weaver who wrote an authoritative book about

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

in 1808.

Biography

John Duncan came from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, but nothing has so far been found about his ancestry. He was the inventor of a patent tambouring machine (Patent No 2769, of 1804). This was an early sewing machine, for "raising flowers, figures and other ornaments on muslins, lawns, silks, woollens, or mixed cloths". Duncan may have used the

chain stitch Chain stitch is a sewing and embroidery technique in which a series of looped stitches form a chain-like pattern. Chain stitch is an ancient craft – examples of surviving Chinese chain stitch embroidery worked in silk thread have been dated ...

, which was employed for

tambour lace In classical architecture, a tambour ( Fr.: "drum") is the inverted bell of the Corinthian capital around which are carved acanthus leaves for decoration. The term also applies to the wall of a circular structure, whether on the ground or rais ...

, as was later done by

Barthélemy Thimonnier Barthélemy Thimonnier (19 August 1793 in L'Arbresle, Rhône - 5 July 1857 in Amplepuis) was a French inventor, who is attributed with the invention of the first sewing machine that replicated sewing by hand. He was born in L'Arbresle, in Rhô ...

. Sometimes Duncan's invention has been described as the first embroidering machine; as with other pioneering machines of the period, it was unsuccessful. Duncan loom

Works

Duncan's major work was ''Practical and Descriptive Essays on the Art of Weaving'' (Glasgow, 1808). It was later said, by Clinton G. Gilroy, to be an unacknowledged source used in

Andrew Ure Andrew Ure FRS (18 May 1778 – 2 January 1857) was a Scottish physician, chemist, scriptural geologist, and early business theorist who founded the Garnet Hill Observatory. He was a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal S ...

's ''Philosophy of Manufactures''. Duncan wrote an account of his tambouring machine in the ''

Edinburgh Encyclopædia The ''Edinburgh Encyclopædia'' is an encyclopaedia in 18 volumes, printed and published by William Blackwood and edited by David Brewster between 1808 and 1830. In competition with the Edinburgh-published ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', the ''Edin ...

'', article "Chain Work," according to Harte. (p. 124) Duncan was also the probable author of the "Cloth Manufacture" article in Volume 6 of the

Edinburgh Encyclopedia Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of ...

, signed "(J.D.)" The entry contains "a description of a loom invented by the author of this article," which purports to improve upon the vertical loom of Mr. Johnson, also discussed in the entry. Figures 3 and 4 of Plate CXCV, entitled "Vibrating Loom," illustrate his invention. Duncan also wrote articles for ''

Rees's Cyclopædia Rees's ''Cyclopædia'', in full ''The Cyclopædia; or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature'' was an important 19th-century British encyclopaedia edited by Rev. Abraham Rees (1743–1825), a Presbyterian minister and scholar w ...

'' on: *Draught and Cording of Looms (Vol 12, 1809) *Draw Loom (Vol 12, 1809) *Hundreds (Vol 18, 1811) *Weaving (Vol 38, 1818) and is possibly the author of: *Flax (Vol 14, 1810) *Silk (Vol 32, 1815/16) *Stocking Frame (Vol 34 1816) and perhaps the short articles on: *Diaper (Vol 11, 1808) *Dimity (Vol 11, 1808) *Dornock (Vol 12, 1809).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, John Year of death unknown 19th-century Scottish writers 19th-century Scottish male writers Writers from Glasgow British weavers Year of birth unknown