Antique 12 Bar Dobby Chain INTERESTING PIECE! SUPER NICE antique 12 bar dobby chain from the Rice Dobby Chain Co of Millbury, Massachusetts. Dobby is short for "draw boy" which refers to the weaver's helpers who used to control the warp thread by pulling on draw threads. A Dobby Loom, invented around 1843, is a type of floor loom that controls the warp threads using a device called a dobby. On a manual dobby the sequence that makes up the pattern is represented by the chain of dobby bars or lags. Each lag has many holes punched into it so that pegs could be inserted which would select the proper shafts to be moved. The selected shafts were raised or lowered by leg power on a dobby pedal. The length of the sequence is limited by the length of the dobby chain. This can easily be several hundred dobby bars, although an average dobby chain will have approximately fifty bars. This Dobby has 12 lags or dobby bars with 32 peg holes in each. On the back of each dobby bar is the black stamp "RICE DOBBY CHAIN CO. MILLBURY, MASS.". The dobby is in very good condition and would make a nice display piece.
Circa: Circa 1900's
Condition: Very Good
Size: 12 Dobby Bars
Country of Origin: US
Manufacturer: Rice Dobby Chain Co