This weaving loom is on display at the Sandy Spring Slave Museum & African Art Gallery in Sandy Spring, MD. http://www.sandyspringslavemuseum.org/

The loom was originally in a plantation in Richmond, VA.
Estimated time period of this loom is: xxx (tbd)

• Pic1 - side front of loom. The cloth breast beam was missing and several new pieces of wood have been used as a replacement.
• Pic2 - front of loom
• Pic3 - reed on bench; reed size was 36” x 5” with approximately12 epi
• Pic4 - What is this piece? It fit onto the side of the bench, but we are not sure of it’s purpose
• Pic5 - Heddle Measuring Tool to make string heddles; there were three heddles on the tool, but not sure why the heddles only went one half of the measuring tool and not the other left half?
• Pic6 - The Heddle Measuring tool, fit into slot on the bench.
• Pic7 - inside view of the loom, the ropes from the foot pedals are currently strung through the cloth beam which I’m pretty sure is not correct. The loom is currently missing the heddle bars and parts that would have been used to raise/lower the heddle bars. Need to understand what kind of mechanism would have been appropriate for this type of loom to raise and lower the heddle bars?
• Pic8 - basket of cotton
• Pic9 - photograph showing a truck full of picked cotton.

The Slave Museum would like to get the loom in a condition where it can be warped and perhaps have a woven piece in progress on the loom.

I think the following would need to be done:

1. Stabilize the loom so that it is safe to sit on the bench.
2. Obtain a 12 epi steel reed. The current reed would be too fragile to attempt to use. Anyone have a 36” - 12 epi reed they’d like to donate?
3. Make approximately 300 string heddles
4. Understand and construct mechanism for foot pedals to raise/lower the heddles.

Other suggestions/thoughts?

References:
- interesting video; weaving at Mount Vernon on a barn loom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnbUF0wgIfw