The Wool Merchant's Daughter

Did I need another wheel? Ummmmm … not really. I’m pretty well-stocked with wheels and am downsizing some papers and household stuff. So another wheel wasn’t really a necessity. But I hadn’t bought a new wheel yet in 2020 so if I was going to buy one, this was certainly a catch.

This turned up on Facebook Marketplace. Usually, a wheel like this turns up many, many miles away but this was local. The photo was a little dark but I could see it was in good shape. And, a double-treadle! The unicorn of Canadian production wheels. And, best of all, the seller wasn’t asking for much money. So, off we went to gather it up.

I couldn’t believe what good shape this was in. The seller had had it for 50 years; her father had bought it for her. She loved Early American furniture and had kept this wheel all these years (I hated to tell her it was 19th century and Canadian!) and said she never was tempted to spin, but just kept the wheel for its architectural integrity.

Her flyer is in mint condition.

The cast iron MOA mount has the little pleats in it and is held on by the coveted “chicken nut.” The beaded edge suggests the makers Laurence or Cadorette. A scrap of oval ink mark matches the oval shape of the Cadorette mark but so little remains, it is difficult to say.

The double-treadle axle is forged, as are the footmen although one is a bit battered and installed upside down. The wood of the upright has a lovely burl in it.

The treadles are pristine along the front. The only damage is a small piece sheared off one side of one treadle. The eye bolt in the other treadle was loose and needs some TLC. The one treadle has a couple of intriguing drops of finish — was the original finish stripped off at one time and some drips not wiped up? Or are these original to the wheel?

Over all, I feel like this was quite a catch. She is clean, her flyer is in mint condition, and her wheel tight and true. I will need to get a driveband on her and see what she spins like, but that is for another day!

This entry was posted on Monday, October 5th, 2020 at 2:18 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.