Joseph Marie Jacquard

Portrait of Joseph Marie Jacquard

Joseph Marie Jacquard (7 July 1752 – 7 August 1834), born Joseph Marie Charles, was a French weaver and merchant. He is known as the inventor of the Jacquard loom.

Quotes

• The machine that I created is simple, costs virtually nothing to maintain, and only requires being kept clean, protected from rust and dust. … This is not all: the fabric is created with speed and perfection, the designs go with the warp of the thread, and the outlines are imperceptible and blended, like in painting.
  • Notice on the inventions and improvements introduced in the industry of Lyon by Joseph Jacquard since January 1, 1809 until today (French: Notice sur les inventions, et perfectionnement introduit dans l'industrie de Lyon par Joseph Jacquard depuis le 1 janvier 1809, jusqua'a ce jour). As translated by Christie's Books and Manuscripts Department.

Quotes about Joseph Marie Jacquard

"The portrait of Jacquard was, in fact, a sheet of woven silk, framed and glazed, but looking so perfectly like an engraving, that it has been mistaken for such by two members of the Royal Academy." (Charles Babbage, Passages from the Life of a Philosopher)

• The portrait of Jacquard was, in fact, a sheet of woven silk, framed and glazed, but looking so perfectly like an engraving, that it has been mistaken for such by two members of the Royal Academy.
  • Charles Babbage, Passages from the Life of a Philosopher (1864)

• We may say most aptly that the Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.
  • Ada Lovelace, Notes on the Analytical Engine invented by Charles Babbage (1843)

• Jacquard was a man who was most at home among workmen. He was always happiest in their company, and to know him as he really was one had to see him in his ordinary clothes in a weaver's studio, giving the weavers instruction on how to make best use of his loom.
  • The Count of Fortis, Éloge historique de Jacquard (1840). As quoted in Jacquard's Web: How a Hand-Loom Led to the Birth of the Information Age by James Essinger.