Soundscape of the reconstructed weaving workshop

About the sound

The sounds were recorded in the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź on the permanent exhibition “Reconstruction of the weaving workshop from the 19th/20th century. Presentation of machines in motion”.
All sounds come from original and complete weaving machines in operation, which used to constitute the machinery of big textile factories of the city of Łódź. As in their most prosperous years the machines had been operating in weaving mills with hundreds of looms, the recorded soundscape reflects only a tiny fragment of the workshop’s atmosphere. The hall in which the recording was realized constitutes part of the White Factory complex launched in 1839 by Ludwik Geyer and now adapted for exhibition purposes. The White Factory used to be one of the biggest textile enterprises in Łódź.

The soundscape is created by 5 machines in operation:
Two narrow shuttle looms; manufactured by Maschinenfabrik Ruti, Łódź, 1892.
Half-width shuttle loom; manufactured by Fred Greenwood Mechanical Works, Łódź, 1889.
Automatic four-point weft winder; manufactured by Totex Chrastava Frydlant, Czechoslovakia, 1967.
Automatic four-point weft winder; manufactured by Totex Chrastava Frydlant, Czechoslovakia, 1972.
All devices were in operation up to the 1990s or longer.

Sound recordist: Monika Widzicka
Photographer: Piotr Leszczyński
Video recordist: Piotr Leszczyński