Dublin Core
Title
Flax and Hemp Dresser
Description
Dressing flax was a complicated, labor-intensive process to remove seeds and stems so as to separate out the plant's valuable fibers. This image appears in an extensive advertisement for a mechanical dresser--or rather, three different models--that would be used on farms. It promises faster speeds and better yields than a hand-operated process called "hackling." Like other farm implements of this time, a major facet of its sales pitch is the industrial model of deskilling labor, and thus lowering wages: "This machine does not require in its use any peculiar skill. It can be operated by boys or girls, and does not involve any risk to the hands or arms of the operatives, while the ordinary machines require the use of skilled labor, and as experience has proved are always attended with risk to the operatives” (296).
Publisher
Malloy & Sanford (company)
The Genesee Farmer
The Genesee Farmer
Date
1863-09
Contributor
Cooper, Ken
Source
Format
jpeg, 510 KB
Type
Still image
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Printed advertisement