Description
Highlights From This Issue
In this issue we discover a patent that matches an unmarked trolley wheel. A handful of small European-style wheels found in Illinois are studied. A well-known collector of tape looms is profiled and highlights of her collection are shown.
Trolley Wheels and Patents
Mark Ware inherited an unmarked long-track trolley wheel, but he didn’t have any history for it. Recently he discovered a couple of incomplete but similar wheels that were signed. It gave him the name of a patent holder. He and I wondered how these wheels, patented in Iowa, came to be in southwestern Pennsylvania.
A Handful of Small Flax Wheels Found in Illinois
One of the fun parts of the Antique Spinning Wheel Symposium was that some of the participants brought their own treasured wheels to share. Debbie Bartomolucci brought one of her small flax wheels. She has three more that are close in structure but not quite identical. She thinks they were built by a man working during the mid-19th century in or near the German immigrant communities in southern Illinois. Patrick Sanchez also has one. They describe how they are the same and some of the variations.
Tape Looms From the Eleanor Bittle Collection
Eleanor Bittle, well-known as The Tape Lady, died recently at the age of 101. Zephram de Colebi and Johannes Zinzendorf were good friends with her for many years. They share memories of her and selected pieces from her collection.
