Old textile equipment at a garage sale

I was very good today. Very very good. I went to an estate sale, and I didn't buy the Beka rigid heddle loom and floor stand. They wanted $75 for it, but didn't have instructions, and I think some pieces were missing.

I didn't buy the antique spinning wheel. It was a tiny thing, and rickety enough that it fell apart if you tried to actually use it. Pretty though. They said they thought it was a 'bride wheel' from Austria, used as part of a dowry, but had no real history on it.

I was very tempted by this antique tapestry loom though. I could have gotten it for $200. But again, it was too rickety to actually use, and it was missing parts. If I'm going to take up floor space in my house with fiber equipment, I rather want to be able to use it. That piece belongs in a museum, instead. I recommended they take it to the Pioneer museum, or to the antique dealers downtown.

So, instead I held myself to one little purchase. I picked up this old weaving shuttle.

I have a collection of weaving shuttles displayed on my studio walls, and didn't have one of these yet. It is a shuttle for a silk ribbon loom, like here: http://www.greatamericanweaving.com/facility.html . This one says 'Biehl & Son' inside. I haven't been able to find any Google hits on that, but I'm looking. In any case, I've rearranged my collection on the wall, and it now has a place of honor in the display.

Not a bad day!