PLATE XCII.

SHAWL BORDERS,

BY J. AND A. ROXBURGH OF PAISLEY.

The manufactures of Paisley, both in their past and present state, are full of interest to the student ofproductive and commercial progress, and to all interested in the application of the true principles of art tothe native industry of Britain . The history of the trade of the town displays, in a striking manner, the energyan d enterprise of our northern fellow-subjects, and is eminently deserving of a brief record in our pages. Theunion of Scotland with England, in 1707, appears to have given the first impulse to the trade of Paisley;w hich, even before that era, had comprised coarse chequered linen cloths and handkerchiefs, with some imitations°f striped muslins, locally known by the name of “Bengals.” These were sold in various parts of England bypedlars, some of whom amassed considerable profits, and, settling in Paisley, soon produced a number of lightergoods, including a variety of lawns, both plain, striped with cotton, and ornamented with different figures. Aboutthe year 1730 an extensive manufacture of linen thread was commenced in the town. This, under the name°f “ounce-thread,” or “nun’s-thread,” long maintained great popularity; and when the use of cotton becamegeneral, the Paisley manufacturers, turning their attention to the spinning of thread from that material,succeeded in establishing a large manufacture of cotton yarn. Thread, to the amount of 100,000/. sterlinglri value, is now produced in Paisley; yet, as we shall hereafter have to observe, the town receives largequantities of a different description from Yorkshire .

About the year 1760 the Paisley manufacturers commenced a bold and successful competition with those°f Spitalfields, in the production of a kind of silk gauze, which became so exceedingly fashionable as tosu persede the produce of the London firms; several of which actually removed their works to Paisley.About 1785 the popularity of these goods declined, mainly in consequence of the reduction in the cost ofc °tton, which followed the introduction of Arkwright ’s spinning machinery; but the manufacture was partiallyrevived forty years ago, and is still in some demand.

The decline of the silk-gauze trade compelled the manufacturers of Paisley to direct their efforts to that"which long remained their chief produce, and still occupies much of their attention,—namely, the manufacturefine muslins. For these they have acquired great celebrity; the fabrics they produce from the justly cele-brated yarns of Lancashire are chiefly designed for the London market, and are of first-rate excellence.The decoration of these works, by tambouring and embroidering, has latterly afforded much employment tothe females of the town. As a proof of the importance of the trade of Paisley in the last century, we mayobserve that the value of its products in the year 1784 was 579,185/., and in 1790, 660,385/.

Various, however, and important, as are the fancy goods produced in this town, the manufactuie of

shawls is by far the greatest of them all; and to this we must now limit our remarks. Inti oduced at

the beginning of the present century, it has since steadily increased and is celebrated thioughout Euiope.

is estimated that in the year 1834 the value of the shawls manufactured in Paisley amounted to no lesshan one million sterling, and it is now much greater. According to the “ New Statistical Account of Scotland,lbblished in 1837, the number of looms in the town was about 6000; of which 5700 were employed by the

le sident manufacturers, and 300 by Glasgow houses. In addition to these, 2000 looms were worked by Paisley