A self-actor – How spinning machines changed the manufacture of textiles

Until around 1800 it was the spinning wheel and spindle that were used to process wool. The first spinning machine, the spinning jenny invented in 1764, was still operated by hand, but it increased productivity many times over. The beginning of the nineteenth century saw the appearance of the first machine which was able to process wool automatically, the so-called self-actor. Spinning machines using these self-acting mules led to basic changes in the production of textiles.