Die

Description

This engraved copper cylinder was part of a roller printing machine, used to print repeating patterns on textiles. Roller printing, developed in the late 18th century, was faster and less labor-intensive than earlier copperplate printing methods while still achieving the same level of detail. By 1815, roller printed fabrics for clothing and home furnishings were widely available in the United States. This roller is engraved with ornate floral and diamond motifs. In a roller printing machine, ink would be applied to the cylinder and yards of fabric would pass underneath, printing the engraved designs as the fabric pressed against the revolving cylinder. This object is one of a large group transferred to Winterthur from the American Textile History Museum when it closed in 2017.