summer 2009

the bombilla the quarterly international lighting fanzine

begins its quest in search of the roots of modernity,

archiving and lining up all existing documentation and

information in an attempt affront it in an manner of critical

thought.

Contents :

Instead of Editorial..........................................

Range against the Machine - The

Luddites......................................................

........................1

Actions and Trials of the

Luddites......................................................

......................................17

Masking and Archaic Justice

� .............................................................

...................................27

Underground

Movements.....................................................

....................................................29

Symbolism of Light the Secret story of the Olympic

Flame........................................................4

7

Miscellaneous � Authoritarian use of

Light.........................................................

......................50

Short story of the

Lamp..........................................................

...................................................54

Design 150 years Thonet

No14..........................................................

......................................60

Art : Eric

Drooker......................................................

..............................................................

.63

Music:

Chambawamba...................................................

......................................................... 64

Cover : ZON by Constant

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Imagine a group of prisoners

chained since their childhood

deep down in the darkness of a

cave, their bodies and heads are

locked in such a way that they

can only stare on the wall in

front of them.

Behind the prisoners there is a

huge fire, and between the fire

and the prisoners there is a

walkway along which people pass

holding in their raised hands

various objects, casting in this

way various shadows on the wall

in front of the prisoners.

Occasionally the prisoners will

hear noise, noise which echoes

off the wall of the cave

depicting the shadows. Ultimately

the prisoners make themselves

believe that the noise is coming

from the shadows.

This is the only reality

they know…

Suddenly a prisoner breaks free

from his bounds, slowly and hard-

fought in hands and knees he

manages to crawl up and out of

the cave. Then when he finally

reaches the exit of the cave the

Sun shines upon his face burning

his eyes. Once more he must find

the strength to overcome this

utter challenge and educe

himself, to glint at the Sun. In

time he will learn to see

how to see…

The responsibility that has

fallen upon him "dictates" that

he must now to return to the cave

and help the rest of the

prisoners which remain in green.

"The allegory of the cave"

Plato

Range Against the Machine

1

The Industrial Revolution had an

effect on the imagination of

society, it made people think that

their culture was to be judged

solely by its commercial success

in a struggle of which the whole

world was now the arena. The test

of success was the test of profits

: if a society could make its

social and political conditions

favourable to the earning of high

profits that society was

prosperous.

3

The Industrial revolution as a

theme has been subject to bulks o

critical papers resulting to an

abundance of literature, scholar

exploration and surveys

researching its effects on the

social and economic structure of

society; the quality of life;

laboring and the emerging of new

social classes. Nonetheless one

distinct feature, considerably

investigated, but rather unknown,

would be the chapter of the

Luddites. The legendary counter-

revolution movement of the

skilled English artisans, who

spiritedly and actively opposed to

the evolutionary one-way of the

industrial revolution and to the

effects that it would have on

their livelihood.

It has been argued among social

historians that: “The Luddites

were desperate bands of weavers

who hated machines” or that the

Luddites were involved in a

emotional “pointless frenzied

industrial Jaquering.” Opposition

to these views supports that the

Luddites were well aware of their

social status; as well as their

potential power and that they

organised in a early form of

“conscious class struggle” using

“collective bargain by riot” as a

means of pressure, when all other

measures had failed.

In this article we will shed

light in yet another aspect of

this peculiar revolutionary

movement. That of the

distinguished and prominent

artisans who saw their art and

craft be pounded on the “anvil of

progress”.

Although the Luddites may have,

lost that battle; the seeds of

their revolution would be planted

in the gardens of all creative

arts; beginning from the Romantic

poets and the Victorian

novelists, far- reaching the Pre-

Raphaelites and the Arts and

Crafts movement, thereby touching

literally all that follows.

RANGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

THE LUDDITES

The Luddites, followers of the legendary Ned Ludd, were bands of

British Artisans who in the beginning of the nineteenth century

smashed textile-making machines and burned down factories in the early

stage of the industrial revolution..

How gloomy and Dark is the Day

When Men Have to Fight for their Bread;

Some Judgment will sure clear the way,

and the poor Triumph shall be led.

1

“Great evils would follow if the working people were allowed to feel

and make known the extent of their power”

2

Range Against the Machine

2

It is now time to reexamine and

reevaluate the importance and

momentous influence of this early

movement, (which may well be the

first of it's kind) the bodies of

skilled artisans who experienced

unpredictable changes leading to

unidirectional paths and responded

by declaring nothing but war to

their tyrants.

Who would imagine that Mary

Shelly's

4

Gothic novel

“Frankenstein or the Modern

Prometheus” (1818) was in fact a

reflection to the zeitgeist;

working both as a warning against

the over-reaching of humanity as

well as a critique on the

Industrial revolution. It would be

the influence of Lord Byron;

British figure in Romanticism and

sympathizer of the Luddites;

intimate friend of the Shelly

family who would furnish the link

between the Luddites and Marry.

Byron had risen and outspoken of

“

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” in his speech

against the Frame breaking act; or

Frame-Breaking Bill in the house

of lords on February 27 1812,

defending the Luddites.

The subject of the Luddites ,is

deliberately brought up in

exploration of the roots of the

historic continuity of the

design/production practice, with

the ambition of lining up all

existing documentation and

affronting it in an manner of

critical thought. The Luddite

matter is thus considered primal,

if one takes into consideration

that it was in that time, that the

transition from traditional

production - to mass production

technique occurred; regarding all

the ramifications that this

evolution has had ever since.

The Luddides avowedly were

smashing textile machines in

response to the production of

inferior goods, which they felt

was traumatizing the reputation

of their craft, taking it down

the road of obscurity. Goods that

would have required the skill of

a Master or at least a journeyman

to be produced in the first place.

Apart for the step-down in

standard which was one of the

central reasons that gave rise to

the Luddites. Another fundamental

factor was that the introduction

of machinery took place as a

system that did not allow the

workers to posess control over

it(rather the opposite),if that

were to be the case then their

reaction would have probably been

completely different. Contrary to

that, machinery was introduced

under a system that placed the

workers to the disposal of the

machineries owners (capitalists),

who valued machinery as a means,

“not to a larger and richer life

for the workers, but to greater

and quicker profits for their

enterprise”

5

.These new conditions

were dictating the transformation

of the formerly autonomous worker

from a state of creative work to

a new state of monotonous slavery.

Close you eyes and imagine a

society where all goods are

handmade , tailors, shoemakers,

woodworkers, carpenters and

cabinet makers, spinners weavers,

stockingers and croppers ,

ironworkers, blacksmiths

metalworkers, armorers and

gunmakers, potters, glassblowers,

silversmiths and the list goes on

and on... Now open your eyes and

picture the same people forced to

leave their small original

workshop only to be swarmed under

Range Against the Machine

3

the roofs of the soulless,

colorless new big factories...

In order to infiltrate deeper

within the subject one must have a

a look upon the lives of these

people as it were before the

development of the factory system.

Guilds-War of the Guilds

In England at least as early as

the middle ages all craft would

have been organized in guilds.

Guilds were forms of early

associations of individuals

practicing the same art/craft. A

guild lied anywhere between an

association, a brotherhood, a

craft fellowship and a secret

society. A typical taxonomy would

divide guilds into two types: the

merchant guilds and the craft

guilds. It is interesting to note

that it was in fact the antagonism

of these two guilds or rather the

pursuit of the former guilt for

profit (along with the ingenuity

of engineers )that led to the

acknowledged explosion of mass

production.

The existence of the craft guilds

was developed, on the grounds of

common interest and protection of

the craftsmen, ensuring

independence against the lords and

city authorities. Retrospecting

even earlier in time, during the

formation of the first cities;

people usually came to medieval

towns or cities being social and

economic centers in order to trade

or sell their goods. The Towns or

cities were usually owned by

lords, the lord would therefore

tax the artisans and merchants in

return of their protection within

the walls of the city. Prosperous

towns would attract more merchants

and artisans resulting to an

increased share of taxes for the

lord and the city authorities.

The guilds ultimately guarded the

association best interest and

maintained the standard and

customs of the craft. Their

authorization would further

ensure that the ordinances were

properly executed, punishing

anyone who would betray them. The

ability of securing independence

meant that all practitioners of

the craft should belong to the

guild; thus having the ability to

put pressure upon the authorities

when needed. Eventually certain

circumstances would provide

confirmation of the guild by the

constituted authorities,meaning

that thenceforth the guild was

legally able regulate the trade.

6

In the beginning of the

thirteenth century the craft and

trade or merchant guilds, which

until that time had worked

together in comparative harmony,

began a divergence of their

mutual relations. In the early

period of the middle ages it was

common for the same person to act

both as craftsman and merchant or

tradesman. The producers of goods

of the “forge and loom” purchased

their own material, and when

their productions were completed,

they sold them directly to the

consumer.

As trade and manufacture was

increasing, the small traders

developed into merchants,and as

their fortunes would increased,so

would their greed. Now instead of

manufacturing their own goods ,

the merchants would only deal

with the manufactured goods of

others. Eventually these

merchants would secure privileges

which would develop into

monopolies and henceforth

exercised the monopolistic

Range Against the Machine

4

privileges against their former

associates and co-workers the

craftsmen. Furthermore the

merchants wealth enabled them into

buying-out the assistance of the

King and the official authorities.

The merchants would gradually

separated themselves from their

former fellow members -the

craftsmen- who were no longer

admitted but ousted from the

merchant guilds eventually tried

to take control over the craft

guilds as well. This resulted to

a contest carried on all over

Europe - an active warfare to

who was to control the craft

guilds.

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In English society during Queen

Elizabeth's I regime (1500-

1603)the knitters from the East

Midlands where people

supplementing their income by hand

knitting. Men and women in every

village and town would have then

been seen knitting. Unwanted

innovation first came when William

Lee of Calverton conceived the

knitting frame

8

, the first

mechanical means of knitting; a

remarkable invention (as early as

1589) which was destined to remain

unutilized due to the Queen's

conviction that the hand knitters

would have be “thrown out of work”!

Nevertheless the knitting frame

was such an important discovery

that it would later dominate the

cloth industry for the centuries

to come. After William Lee passed

away in 1610 his brother James

returned to England (from France

where they had both turned to

after Queen Elisabeth's

repudiation) and set a workshop in

London; soon the art of stocking

(socks) was spread in the capital

thus the “

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s” was formed

and granted a Royal charter.

Their motto: >>Speed, Strength

And Truth United<<. The Master,

Wardens, Assistants and Society

of the Art or Mystery of

Framework Knitters so to say...

9

The center of the trade from

London was soon to move to the

north of the country - Leicester

and Nottingham. Unsatisfied

Framework knitters, from the

controls imposed on them by the

guild of London moved their

workshops to the East Midlands

which was a major wool producing

center itself, hence would evolve

into the Country's heart of

Framework knitting. This, is

where the story of the Luddites

will be untangled.

As the British empire would

expand its territorial dominance

becoming "The Empire on which the

sun never sets” a vast market of

raw material and trade soon

sprung up. It is evident that

this was one of the crucial

factors that merchants “bet on

higher stakes” accelerating

production and profit; which in

its turn allegedly resulted to an

abundance of inferior goods.

Notably this factor would later

give birth to the

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t; a movement which

started itself in England and was

destined to spread out in the

world as a strong critique

against inferior quality goods;

making an overall attempt to

return to the values of the

handicraft work of the past which

the Luddites were representatives

of. Ironically enough this

movement was product of the

factory system and the industrial

Range Against the Machine

5

revolution as well.

The war of the guilds being still

evident. The Luddites in any case

should be recognized as the

prolongation of this battle in one

of its most dramatic curves;

standing as rearguard and

reminders of the value of craft

which was soon to inspire

generations to come, schools of

thought, utter movements, styles,

groups, artists and designers all

over the world to this very day.

Examining the transition from

handicraft to mechanization there

are some more steps that we need

to follow in order to understand

the psychographic profile of the

people that rose against the

introduction of machinery in their

day to day lives. The transition

from cottage industry to factory

system happened gradually, but it

was destined to change western

civilization forever: This

transition was strongly dependent

on the innovative solutions of the

inventors of the time on one hand,

and on the ingenious cunning

spirit of the globalized merchants

on the other, who as the boarders

of the empire grew so did their

business. Their forward desire was

to lower expenses and accelerate

production and it was in this

logic that certain inventions

sprung up designed to cope with

these demands.

Hand weavers, hand knitters and

sheermen worked in their own pace

within their own cottage. The

craftsmen's traditional techniques

of production required a high

degree of skill. But the new

inventions now enabled non skilled

workers to perform work that had

traditionally been the field high

skilled Guild members. When the

factory owners were to discover

that the new textile machinery

did not take special skills to

handle, they would soon fire all

the men and instead hire women

and children who could be payed

less and handled easier.

The transition of privatively

owned shops to large factories

represented a important shift in

the economic power as well as the

psychology of the nature of work

itself. The loss of autonomy was

now evident, the new nature of

work being monotonous and

dependent on factory's demands

for mass production, the worker

thus had not only lost his

freedom but also lost his contact

with the “fruits of production”

alienating him from the joy of

creative activity. The evolution

is rather a story of an obvious

domino.

Domestic System-Factory

system

Before the Industrial revolution,

the chief British industry was

textile manufacturing providing

employment throughout Britain.

The tools of the trade being the

handlooms and spinning wheels.

The producers of the woolen cloth

were home based and the

production of their goods

depended on the members of the

family. They cleaned, combed,

spun dyed and wove raw material

into cloth. The women and the

younger girls were responsible

for cleaning, carding and

spinning the sheep's fleece and

the men were responsible for the

weaving process upon the hand

looms; (an instrument which

required extra physical strength

therefore was handled by the male

Range Against the Machine

6

members of the family). Cloth

merchants would visit the cottage

industries and provide the

producers with raw material,

collecting the finished goods in

order to sell them in local fairs

or promote them to foreign

markets. Family business on the

other hand ; is a term that still

remains today in the different

vocabularies of nations, whereas

its roots can be derived directly

from antiquity.

The definition of the word factor

is: one that actively contributes

to an accomplishment, result, or

process or one who acts for

someone else; an agent. The

Merchants were the fist to

practice this technique and were

the first to see the optimization

of this agency threw the factory

system. The combination of new

machinery along with factoring

resulted to large numbers of

workers - large buildings and mass

produced finished goods. The

various processes of manufacture,

which had heretofore been

primarily performed by hand under

the masters own roof, would now by

executed by machinery at the

public mills. Gathering together a

number of spinning-wheels, hand-

looms, dye-vats, shearing-boards

etc would allow supervision,

effectivity , regulation of labour

hours, prevention of inaction

among employees, as well as

maintenance of uniform standard of

production ; Most importantly, the

concentration of employees under

one roof prevented that waste of

time which occurred when wool i.e.

had to be carried at a distance

between each process.

The new industrial system had

robbed society of its freedom and

pleasures.

Reading the introduction of “The

Skilled Labourer” we understand

how this happened ..."the

domestic worker had some say in

his own life : he could go out

and dig in his garden or smoke as

he pleased : he was in some cases

a farmer as well as a weaver or a

spinner : he was in short not

quite disinherited from the old

village economy in which a man

did not merely sell his labour

but had some kind of holding and

independence of his own. The

industrial changes that occurred

at this time destroyed this

social economy with its margin of

freedom and choice for the

worker".

10

In was in the same manner that

the worker not only surrender his

freedom to the advent of

industrial revolution but he was

expected to surrender his home as

well(!) His wife who in the old

days brewed the ale, cleaned and

cooked, and helped with the loom,

had now to spend the whole day in

the mill, spinning for the mass

production of yarn, the child

would be sent to the mill as soon

as it could walk(!) It was

supposed we are informed that no

home could be kept going unless

the children of five or six went

to the mill. Therefore under such

a system the owners of capital

could decide not only how the

worker spent his life but how he

brought up his children and

handled his family affairs as

well.

This new reality would influence

a wide range of jobs that had

been previously performed

independently and self-employed

under the ordinance of the

guilts.

Range Against the Machine

7

In older times the Artisan would

have negotiated an agreement with

the merchant regarded as a

business partner rather than a

"cogwheel" within a well tuned

machine. Therefore moving the

state of the manual worker from

the state the of autonomy to

the state of monotony.

It is easy to understand that the

new “status quo” accepted only

investors with sufficient

assets(capital), being able to set

up factories - contrary to the

earlier artisans who initially

needed a small sum of money in

order to open a workshop. These

entrepreneurs would become to be

known as capitalists . Setting

forth an example of scale; as

early as 1790 Mr. Robert Grimshaw,

of Gorton House, Gorton, near

Manchester made plans of a

factory working as much as 500

power-looms,and built a weaving

steam factory at Knott Mill. When

the mill was finished, the

machinery, included only 30 power-

looms, but it is indicative of the

forces of change at the time. It

was not several weeks though at

work after that the owner received

several anonymous letters

threatening destruction to the

mill if he persisted to work it -

and the factory was burned to the

ground.

The time of the Luddites

A more spherical view of this

time of change is required to

understand the full picture of the

conditions that were dominant at

that time. Ten years into the new

century 1810 and English economy

was suffering due to the war in

Europe with the French. Napoleon,

enacted the Continental System,

thus prohibiting English trade from

entering the continent. These

events would effect the of

lowering of wages while the

prices of basic goods, would

continuously rise. The

productivity of the farms was

inadequate to provide food to the

on growing population of the

English Kingdom and on top of all

others America had just declared

war on England (Anglo-American

War 1812-1815) ousting yet

another turf of export,thus

damaging even more the foreign

trade. Enclosure of land, led

many small farmers to be

displaced out by bigger

competitors leading them to

starvation; having no other

choice the farmers turned to the

emerging industrial workplaces.

All previous circumstances

considered the American and

French revolutions were hanging

over the heads of the aristocracy

as the rope noose hangs from the

gallows. Finally a shift in

fashion which also took

place(trousers took the place of

stockings) resulted to a even

deeper depression of the stocking

trade. Putting together these

bits and pieces of the puzzle

that composed the outburst of

popular discontent; we have a

general understanding of the

circumstances under which the

Luddite rising took place in the

north of England the Midlands

(Nottinghamshire); West Riding

(Yorkshire) and Lancashire from

1811 – 1816.

Frank Peel in his book “The

Rising of the Luddites” (1880)

speaks of a “weary war” which the

aristocracy of England undertook

in order to crush French

liberalism and to force a king

upon the French nation. “To crush

Napoleon we had not only sent our

Range Against the Machine

8

own armies but had also in our pay

the hordes of the despots of

Europe. The hard-earned money

wrung from our own working people

till they rose in their misery ”.

It was in this context in which

the re-action of the Luddites

flourished in all three regions of

distresses.

P. Gaskel in his book “Artisans

and Machinery” (1836) describes

the declension of the numerous

class of artisans in Great

Britain, as a painful picture

“from comfort, morality,

independence, and loyalty, to

misery, demoralization,

dependence, and discontent,”

11

Who were the Luddites?

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The Luddite in broad terms have

remained a mystery... The U.K.

National Archives define the

Luddites as: English craftsmen and

other workers in the northern and

Midlands counties who engaged in

destroying textile machinery (1811-

13), so called because their

manifestos and handbills were

sometimes signed 'Ned Ludd' or

'General Ludd'. The introduction

and spread of the new textile

technology reduced wages and

standards of living. Initially the

workers had sought government

regulation of the new technology;

but when it became clear that the

government favoured non-

intervention, groups of organized

workers began to destroy the

machines.

Encyclopedia Britannica 1911 in

its citation on the Luddites says

that Luddites, was the given

name of bands of English rioters

that organized for the

destruction of machinery. They

made their first appearance in

Nottingham and the neighboring

districts. The frame-breakers

called themselves Luddites, and

signed their proclamations by the

name of their leader Ned Ludd;

"sometimes adding office of

Sherwood Forest"

.12

The Royal Forest of Sherwood in

Nottinghamshire , is historically

associated with the legend of

Robin Hood and his band of “Merry

men” to understand the extent to

which the Luddites caught the

imagery of the folk the first

verse of “The triumph of General

Ludd” is more than enough :

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The Luddites were most notably

weavers, knitters and croppers

13

Although Frank Peel in his book

“The Rising of the Luddites” on

his account of the Luddites of

Yorkshire will warn us : “If any

of our readers suppose that the

Luddites were all cloth finishers

or croppers who had been goaded

to fury by the rapid introduction

of machinery, which threatened to

deprive them of the means of

earning a livelihood, they will

Range Against the Machine

9

find, on investigation, that they

are mistaken. That the leaders of

the movement in the West

Riding(Yorkshire) were chiefly men

of that stamp is doubtless quite

correct; and that their prime

object was the destruction of the

obnoxious machines is also true;

but there were connected with the

risings, numbers of weavers,

tailors, shoemakers, and

representatives of almost every

handicraft, who being, in most

instances, on the brink of

starvation, entered the conspiracy

in sheer desperation”.

Indeed it is not difficult to

imagine the distress that the

alleged shift of work must have

generated to the people. In the

words of the Hammond's

14

in “The

Skilled Labourer” (1919) we may

observe: “The workers felt(...)

that the grasp of the new power

was closing on them, and they

resisted instinctively every

change that could hasten that

process. They considered about

each invention not whether it

meant that a piece of work could

be done in one hour instead of ten

(...)but whether it brought their

final enslavement a day nearer”

15

Industrialization brought dramatic

change into everyday life; change

beyond imagination.To the world of

Artisans the Industrial Revolution

fell like a war or a plague.“Never

since the days when populations

were sold into slavery did a fate

more sweeping overtake a people

than the fate that covered the

hills and valleys of Lancashire

and the West Riding with the

factory towns”

16

. Again in the

“Rising of the Luddites” Frank

Peel argues that the Luddites were

Artisans who when faced with the

“obnoxious machinery” which could

be handled by less skilled labour

i.e appendices, women and

children , along with the

reduction of their wages and

production of inferior goods

eliciting a damaging name for

their trade; would in a violent

manner wreck the very root of the

problem which was non other than -

the machine- assuming therefore

pressure upon the mill owners in

an attempt to preserve their

wages jobs and trade.

So who were these revolutionaries

and where did they operate?

The Luddites were radical skilled

artisans who mainly operated in

the geographical triangle between

Yorkshire(West-Riding),Lancashire

and the Midlands

(Nottinghamshire). They are

thought to have been named after

a certain Ned Ludd who on an

occasion had broke machinery in

Leicestershire during a “fit of

temper”.(Look in subchapter Ned

Ludd). Luddism utilized

“industrial warfare” in the form

of “collective bargain by riot”

17

as the social historian Eric

Hobsbawn would put it. In

Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire

they operated as a guerrilla

force, were as in Lancashire

under different circumstances

their numbers grew substantially

larger and were involved in

direct action with large number

of riot mobs. From written

accounts we are informed of their

weaponry and tactics the Luddites

were armed, with clubs, sticks,

swords, guns, and pistols. A

number also wielded huge hatchets

and blacksmith's hammers, for the

purpose of making entry into the

places where the frames were kept.

18

“The Luddides were armed in

very

Range Against the Machine

10

motley fashion : some baring guns,

pistols, carrying hedge stakes or

stout bludgeons of various kinds,

and not a few held on their

shoulders huge hammers, mauls, and

murderous looking hatchets of

various sizes. They were nearly

all disguised(...).”

19

Samuel smile in his book “Self

help” illustrates: "the

Neighborhood of Nottingham was the

focus of turbulence the machine

breakers in regular bodies would

gather in nocturnal meetings where

they would arrange their

plans(...) All machines were

doomed by them to destruction. The

masters themselves were doomed to

death ; many of them were

assaulted, and some were murdered.

At length the law was vigorously

set in motion ; numbers of the

misguided Luddites were

apprehended ; some were executed ;

and after several years violent

commotion from this cause, the

machine-breaking riots were at

length quelled."

The Hammond's are clear to state

that the distinguishing mark of

frame-breaking during 1811-12 was

not a wild outburst of popular

anger, but rather a well-planned

and organized policy; The frames

the Luddites were breaking, for

the most part belonged to the

master hosiers, who in their turn

hired them out to workmen. As

stocking knitting was mainly a

domestic industry , the stockinger

would rent the frame from the

master and work it in his own shop

handing back the product in order

for the master to sell. Thus these

frames were scattered round the

villages making it easier for the

Luddites to smash them and

disappear. The workmen who hired

the frames were not concerned to

defend the master hosiers

property.

Ned Ludd

The interpretation of Luddites

name that is given by

Encyclopedia Britannica 1911, is

that in the village of

Leincestershire in 1779 lived a

person of “weak intellect” called

Ned Lud who was “the butt of the

boys” of the village . On one

occasion Ludd was pursuing one of

his tormentors into a house where

there were two stocking frames

and as a result of not being able

to catch the boy turned his anger

to the frames. Afterwards

whenever frames were broken ,it

became a commonly say that Ludd

had done it.

According to the Nottingham

Review the original Ned Ludd, was

a boy apprenticed to learn frame-

work knitting at Anstey, near

Leicester. Ned apparently was not

so fond of working, therefore his

master complained to a

magistrate, who ordered his

whipping. Ned in answer took a

hammer and demolished the hated

frames.

20

Another interpretation coming

from Frank Peel says that the

names the counter-revolutionaries

assumed were "Ludds," "Ludders"

and "Luddites" deriving them from

a youth named Nedd Ludd who, when

his father, a frame-worker in

Leicestershire, ordered him to

"square his needles," he squarred

them effectually by taking up his

hammer and beating them into a

heap.

21

The historic existence of Ned

Ludd is rather fictional, and it

is alleged it is rather

Range Against the Machine

11

supposethat he was a fragment of

popular imagination. General or

King Ludd of the Luddites,

working as a common leader for the

cause, but till new evidence

surface, his existence will

remain a mystery...

The Luddite Oath

22

Art thou willing to become a

member of our society and submit

without demur or Question the

commands of General Ludd?

I am.

Then say after me...

'I ... of my own voluntary will,

do declare, and solemnly swear,

that I never will reveal to any

person or persons under the canopy

of heaven, the names of the

persons who compose thisSecret

Committee, their proceedings,

meeting, places of abode, dress,

features, connections, or any

thing else that might lead to a

discovery of the same, either by

word or deed, or sign, under

thepenalty of being sent out of

the world by the first brother who

shall meet me, and my name and

character blotted out of

existence, and never to be

remembered but with contempt

andabhorrence ; and I furthe- now

do swear, that I will use my best

endeavours to punish by death any

traitor or traitors, should he

rise up amongst us, wherever I can

find him or them, and thoughhe

should fly to the verge of nature,

I will pursue him with increasing

vengeance. So help me God, and

bless me to keep this my oath

inviolable.”

23

References

1 A song sang to Frank Peel by an

old lady on the defeat of the

Luddites at Rafolds Mills.( The

Rising of the Luddites 1880 F.

Peel)

2 Leeds Magistrate

3 Rephrasing what the Hammond

wrote in the introduction of

their book “The skilled Labourer”

nearly 100 years ago.

4 Mary Shelly was daughter of

William Godwin the modern

proponent of philosophical

anarchism and Mary Wollstonecraft

renowned feminist of the time.

Her husband was the major English

Romantic Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley

5 Ibid (pg 5)

6 "The Story of Manual Labor in

all Lands and Ages" Simonds John

Cameron Mc Ennis JohnT (p 579)

7 Ibid (pg 580)

8 Its is said that it was due to

the love for his wife, who

ignored him as she would be

concentrated with her knitting

craft. That William Lee would be

create the first knitting machine.

9 In 1663 Charles II. granted a

charter to an incorporation of

"several persons by the name of

master warden, assistants and

society, of the art and mystery

of framework knitters of the

cities of London and Westminster,

the Kingdom of England and

Dominion of Wales, forever, with

power to exercise their

jurisdiction throughout England

and Wales, and, from time to

Range Against the Machine

12

time, to make by-laws for the

regulation of the said business of

framework-knitting, and to punish

persons who should offend against

such by-laws." Ibid Simonds /Mc

Ennis (pg 608)

10 "The skilled Worked" 1919 J. L.

(John Lawrence) and Barbara

Hammond. Hammond (pg3)

11 "Artisans and Machinery" (1836)

P. Gaskel

12 The frame-breakers called

themselves Luddites, and signed

their proclamations Ned Ludd,

sometimes adding Sherwood Forest.

Ibid Hammonds (pg 259)

13 Weaving and knitting were two

different techniques of producing

fabric from yarn. Croppers, also

called finishers or shearmen were

responsible for the last process

of fabric production (raising and

shearing the Nap) were the third

dynamic group of radicals that

were active in that period.

14 J. L. (John Lawrence) and

Barbara Hammond. British

journalist and writer on social

history and politics.

15 Ibid (pg 4)

16 Ibid (pg 4)

17 Phrase coined by Eric John

Ernest Hobsbawm Social Historian.

18 Ibid Peel (pg12)

19 Ibid (pg 37)

20 Ibid Hammond (pg 259)

21 Ibid Peel (pg12)

22 One of the reasons of the

difficulty to find plethora of

evidence on the actions of the

Luddites was their oath of silence

23 Ibid Peel (pg 22),Ibid

Hammonds 275

Pic 2. Reward poster published 1811

Pic 1 Luddite Riot Map Mechanization and Society: The Luddite Riots (1811-1816)

Range Against the Machine

13

Pic 7. Factory Children 1814 George Walker .

Pic 6. The Cloth-dresser 1813 George Walker

Pic 4. Woman Spinning

Pic 5. The cloth hall 1814

Pic 3. Wensley Dale knitters.

Pic 5. Cloth makers

Photos obtained by the New York Public Library

Range Against the Machine

14

Pic 8. The Luddites on march Pic 9. The Luddites smashing the hated machines

Pic 10. The Leader of the "Luddites General Ludd"

Pic 11. The Murder of William Horesfall

Pic 12. The famous Enochs

Range Against the Machine

15

Pic 13 Hand-Loom Weaver Pic 14 The Stocking frame

Pic 15 Shearmen -croppers working Pic 16 The shearing machine which automated the process of cropping the

Pic 17 The gig-mill which automated the tedious process of raising the nap on a

Pic 18 A ball of yarn

Range Against the Machine

The Luddites of the

Midlands

On 11th of March the framework

knitters of Notinghamshire

demonstrated their disapproval

against the production of cut-ups

(inferior quality stockings)which

as they said “worsened their

trade” and in a violent forceful

reaction destroyed the “obnoxious

machinery” responsible for their

production. After an unsuccessful

meeting that had taken place

between the hosiers and

stockingers; the framework

knitters gathered at the market-

place and “resolved to take

vengeance” upon the hosiery

employers who had reduced their

wages. Presence of the military

prevented any violence in the

town, but at night sixty-three

frames were broken at Arnold, a

village four miles north of

Nottingham

1

. This is the event

that marks the beginning of what

has became to be known as the

"Luddite riots". In a period of

three weeks over 200 frames were

destroyed(!)

In their campaign against ' cut-

ups'the men had the support of

many far-sighted employers. As the

Hammond's explain: “The worthless

cut-up stockings were glutting

still further an over-stocked

market, and as continental trade

was at a standstill, the

hosiersonly expedient was to force

a demand by cheapening

production. Wages went down and

grievances of payment in truck

became acute. Thus the men's

anger was directed against 'cut-

ups' not only as evils in

themselves but as exercising an

evil influence over the whole

trade".

Military troops arrived in early

April to quell the disturbances

and special constables were

enrolled by the Nottingham

authorities to protect the Frames:

“In consequence of the

continuance of these daring

outrages, a large military force

was brought into the

neighborhood, and two of the

London police magistrates, with

several other officers, came to

Nottingham”

2

In vain since the

fever of a uprising had already

struck the Midlands.

Bands of rioters were breaking

into hosiery shops at night

destroying machinery elaborating

in a unusual Industrial Warfare

conflict.The machines were of

very “delicate construction”

therefore a “single blow” of a

hammer rendered them useless

3

.This

was a very carefully planed

policy. The frames or the most

part belonged to the master

hosiers, who hired them out to

ACTIONS OF THE LUDDITES

The first threatening letters of

“

“General Ludd and his army of

Redressers” were sent to hosiery employers in Nottingham in the early

months of 1811. Robert Chamber's in his “Book of days” classifies

march 11th as a “black-letter day in the annals of Nottingshamshire”

and compares it with “no parallel in the history of a civilized

country”. This is because it was the day that the beginning of the

Luddite riots started.

17

Range Against the Machine

their workmen, charging a frame

rent. The wide frames were

scattered around the smaller shops

of the villages. Therefore the

owners of the frames rushed to

remove them from the villages and

lone dwellings of the country, and

brought them into warehouses of

the towns for their better

protection.

After the first weeks of these

events there was a cessation till

the 4th of November. Then -the

campaign- started again with the

destruction of frames at Arnold,

Bulwell, Basford, and other

villages. The destruction

continued throughout the whole of

November in Nottinghamshire.

“On Sunday night, November 10th, a

party of Luddites proceeded to the

village of Bulwell, in open day to

break and to destroy the frames of

Mr. Rollingworth, who, in

anticipation of their visit, had

procured the assistance of three

or four friends, who with firearms

resolved to protect the property.

Many shots were fired, and one of

the assailants, John Woolley, of

Arnold, was mortally wounded,

which so enraged the mob that they

soon forced an entrance(...)the

rioters not only destroyed the

frames, but every article of

furniture in the house.”

4

“John Woolley's funeral on

November 14 was made the occasion

for an orderly and impressive

demonstration of popular feeling”.

The next day a waggonload of

frames again near Arnold was

seized and destroyed as well as

thirty-seven frames in Sutton-in-

Ashfield. The frame breaking would

continue in regular intervals...

The magistrates would publish

letters one of which would state:

"There is an outrageous spirit of

tumult and riot, houses are

broken into by armed men, many

stocking-frames are destroyed,

the lives of opposers are

threatened, arms are seized,

stacks are fired, and private

property destroyed, contributions

are levied under the name of

charity, but under the real

influence of terror".

5

This warning towards the central

government had no effect in

checking the outrages. In the

last week of November, forty-five

frames, chiefly making cut-ups,

were broken at Basford, and

others at Nottingham, Chilwell,

Cossall, Eastwood, Heanor and

Arnold. Twenty more frames were

destroyed the following week, and

the minds of the people inflamed

plundered farmhouses of

provisions and money and the men

declared "they would not starve

while there was plenty in the

land."

6

On December the 6th, 1811 the

magistrates published an edict,

which ordered all people in the

disturbed districts to remain in

their houses after ten o'clock at

night. All public-houses were to

be closed at the same time, and a

reinforcement of a great civil

and military force was sent as

well, thirty-six frames were

broken in the villages around

Nottingham within the six

following days.By December 9,

about 2000 soldiers had already

been sent to the Midlands. From

800 to 900 cavalry and 1000

infantry of the Regular Militia

were present into the disturbed

districts, the frame-breaking was

still continued.

7

18

Range Against the Machine

In December 1811 public

negotiations went on between the

framework knitters and their

employers, the hosiers.

8

Although

no formal agreement was reached,

some hosiers found it expedient to

abandon cut-ups and to pay higher

wages...

9

Frame breaking continued in the

Midlands counties of

Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and

Leicestershire through the winter

and early spring of 1812.

10

The case of the attempted

assassination of hosier Mr.

William Trentha, which took place

in April 1812, should also be

mentioned as an exception in the

policy of the Midland Luddites

solely attacking machines. After

all the disturbances had stopped

Mr. Trentham was attacked

outside his house and wounded.

West Riding and

Lancashire Luddites

Just as things have seemed to be

calming down in the Nottingham

area, new disturbances erupted in

Lancashire, and its surroundings

Cheshire, and Flintshire as well

as in the West Riding of

Yorkshire. Machinery in Manchester

was housed in large factories

contrary to Nottingham where the

knitting frames were scattered

around the smaller shops of the

villages. The attacks that

occurred in Lancashire were

carried out by large crowds of

people and there was no space for

warning letters; the people being

rather direct and straightforward

in their actions and intentions.

In the of West Riding of

Yorkshire factory owners and

cloth merchants were targets of

the croppers the most lethal and

daring group of Luddites namely

the men of "General Snipshears "

From January 1812 Luddite attacks

in Yorkshire concentrated on

small cropping shops and large

mills where shearing frames were

used. Frank Peel says that “The

croppers had the reputation at

this time of being a wild and

reckless body of men ; and the

desperate deeds of which some of

them were afterwards found guilty

seems to show that the accusation

had, at any rate, a good

foundation of truth”

As Samuel Smiles describes the

events:"In Yorkshire and

Lancashire mills were boldly

attacked by armed rioters,and in

many cases they were wrecked or

burnt; so that it be came

necessary to guard them by

soldiers and yeomanry. The

masters themselves were doomed to

death; many of them were

assaulted, and some were

murdered".

11

Machine-breaking had been made a

capital offense since 1721; In

February 1812 an Act of

Parliament was passed, called the

Frame-Breaking Act making

stocking or a lace frame breaking

punished via death. Furthermore

12.000 troops were dispatched

into the areas where the Luddites

were active, (an armed force that

far exceeded the army which

Wellington took into Peninsula in

1808). On February 27, 1812 in

House of Lords, Lord Byron rose

and gave a passionate speech in

defense of the Luddites , in vain

the framework-bill was passed.

19

Range Against the Machine

On the 20th March 1812 the

warehouse of William Radcliffe

12

(one of the first manufacturers to

use power looms) was attacked in

Stockport near Manchester in

Lancashire. On the 4th of April

again in Stockport the house of

Mr. Goodwin was set on fire, and

his steam looms were destroyed.

On the 11th April 1812 the

Luddites made one of their most

crucial attacks. William

Cartwright's Mill at Rawfolds near

Huddersfield of Yorkshire was

stormed. Cartwright who had

suspected such an incident was

prepared and with the support of

armed men held the attack

resulting to the death of two

Luddites. The following week an

assassination attempt was made on

Cartwright's life. Cartwright had

been using cloth finishing

machinery since 1811. Local

croppers began to lose their jobs

and decided to destroy

Cartwright's machinery. The attack

was led by George Mellor a young

cropper from Huddersfield. Who was

later trialled and hung for his

actions. Charlotte Brontë in her

novel "Shirley" published 1849 has

immortalized the event.

Some days later another local mill

owner named William Horsfall seems

to have said that the rioters were

cowards and that if it would be

that they would meet “he would

ride up to his saddle girths in

Luddite blood”, his hostility was

so well known that children would

tease him by running in front of

his horse, calling out ' I 'm

General Ludd.'... I 'm General

Ludd.' Nonetheless the Luddites

took up the invitation and shot

him dead on the public road seven

miles from Huddersfield, on

Crossland on his returning from

the cloth market .

By mid-April, violence was

ranging. The government now saw

the disturbances which broke out

early in 1812, in Cheshire,

Lancashire, and Yorkshire, as

proof that the working classes

were meditating not only the

destruction of machinery but a

general revolution.

13

Lancashire

The definite movement against

steam looms began in Stockport,

the place where they were most in

use. Although they were not found

yet in many factories, the hard

pressed hand-weavers saw in these

machines a new menace to their

livelihood and a new cause of

their misery. Regardless the

secret comities that were active

in that period (1812)at

Stockport, Manchester, and Bolton

destruction of machinery did not

take place all through March,

except for an attempt to burn

William Radcliffe's factory in

Stockport on March 20, where

torches were thrown into the

building, but the owner was able

to save it from destruction.

14

“On Monday, 20th of April (market

day), there were food riots, not

only in Manchester and Bolton,

but also in Ashton and Oldham and

all along the part of Cheshire

northeast of Stockport that lies

between Lancashire and Derby. In

all these places mobs seized

provision carts, and in some

cases broke open shops and

appropriated food with or without

payment. At Tintwistle on April

21, after selling flour, meal,

bacon, and groceries at what they

considered a fair price, they

destroyed some of the machinery

20

Range Against the Machine

in Rhodes' woollen cloth mill, and

also in some cotton mills.”

15

Following the food riot of Oldham;

Burton's Mill was attacked by the

Luddites. Burton knowing that the

introduction of powerlooms would

have caused such problems employed

armed guards and as a result upon

the attack, 5 men were killed on

the side of the Luddites. The next

day after a second failure to

break in the mill; Burtons house

was burned down instead. After the

military arrived on the scene

another seven men at least were

killed in the clashes.

“The manufactory of Mr. Burton

was attacked, and although the

rioters were then repulsed and

five of their number killed by the

military force assembled to

protect the works, a second attack

was made two days afterwards, and

Mr. Burton's house was burnt

before military assistance could

be brought to the spot. When

troops arrived they were fired

upon by the rioters.”

16

“When the

crowd arrived at the factory Mr.

Burton warned them, ' if you dare

to attack this factory I will

resist with force of arms.' They

continued to throw stones and to

use clubs, and Burton and his

servants fired from the factory.

Five rioters were killed and

eighteen wounded, and the mob

retired with imprecations, vowing

that they would burn down Burton's

dwelling house as a punishment for

what they considered as a cold-

blooded murder.”

17

“The next day, a mob about two

hundred strong, chiefly consisting

of local miners, with fowling-

pieces(16th-century European

firearms) and picks, reappeared

and set fire to Burtons house.

When the military arrived the mob

received with shots, resulting

the soldiers opening fire,

killing or wounding (not clear)

about six.”

18

Yorkshire

The Luddite disturbances in

Yorkshire were parallel to those

in Lancashire, but they lasted

longer into the summer of 1812 ,

and the trials took place during

January 1813. The scene of the

disturbances was within the

woollen district of the West

Riding of Yorkshire, and in the

beginning it was said to be the

work of a small band of -highly

organized- workmen aiming for

the destruction of shearing

frames.

The men began destroying the

shearing frames of small shops in

the Huddersfield district in the

later part of February 1812.

'

'

G

G

e

e

n

n

e

e

r

r

a

a

l

l

S

S

n

n

i

i

p

p

s

s

h

h

e

e

a

a

r

r

s

s

'

' and his

men, would send a warning letter,

to the owner of the frames asking

him to take them down; full

destruction not only of his

frames but the of the entire

premises would find him who would

not comply with the guilds

terms...

Since troops to further protect

the region failed to be sent,

machine breaking continued and

grew now not only attacking the

small shops but expanding their

vengeance to the larger

establishments. With their

Enoch's , (big hammers) the

Yorkshire Luddites continued

“their work of destruction”

Ironically enough the firm of

Enoch, James Taylor, Marsden,

from Leeds manufactured not only

21

Range Against the Machine

the shearing frames that the

Luddites hated so ; but the

sledgehammers that guaranteed the

shearing frames destruction as

well !

A barrage of sabotage was carried

out by the croppers during the

spring months of 1812 . On March

15, at Taylor Hill near

Huddersfield Mr. Vickerman's

establishment was attacked ten

frames and thirty pairs of shears

were broken. On March 24,

Thompson's mill at Rawdon near

Leeds was attacked and the

machinery destroyed ; the next day

25th of March, Mr Dickinson's

premises in Leeds were forced-

entered and cloths were cut to

pieces. Mr. Joseph Foster,

proprietor of a big mill at

Horbury, also saw his shearing

frames destroyed on April the 9;

and two nights after the Horbury

affair, on Saturday, April 11,

1812, occurred the attack on

William Cartwright's mill at

Rawfolds in Liversedge.

Cartwright, whose two waggon loads

of frames had been broken up on

the Hartshead Moor shortly before

that time, was expecting an

attack,t hus for six weeks before

April 11 he had slept in his mill

for every night.

On the night on the attack

contingents from Halifax,

Huddersfield, Liversedge,

Heckmondwike, Gomersal, Birstall,

Cleckheaton, and other places,

(about 150), met about three miles

from the mill, between 10 and 11

o'clock. They were armed with

guns, pistols, stakes, hammers,and

whatever else would come in handy

After that the separated into

smaller fractions of musket men or

pistol men or hatchet men and they

marched like a regular army to the

mill, reaching their destination

more than half an hour after

midnight. Another team from Leeds

was expected to meet them before

their arrival but they never made

it, turning back home when they

had heard the first shots fired.

19

Two young men were shot by

Cartwright's firing squads

Hartley and Booth, died after

some hours:

By six in the morning Booth's

agony drew to an end ; as ' he

lay at the point of death he

signaled to Mr. Roberson, who

instantly went to his side.

Can you keep a secret ? ' gasped

the dying man.

I can,' eagerly replied the

expectant clergyman.

So can I,' replied poor Booth,

and soon after calmly expired.'

Hartley,death fighting all

through Sunday, died at 3 o'clock

on Monday morning. No word

passing his lips either

.20

Hartley was buried at Halifax on

the Wednesday amidst an immense

concourse of people from all

sides.The Magistrates in their

panic arranged Booth's funeral

earlier that had been planed

avoiding this way possible

conflicts banning the people to

pay the last honours.

'

V

V

e

e

n

n

g

g

e

e

a

a

n

n

c

c

e

e

f

f

o

o

r

r

t

t

h

h

e

e

B

B

l

l

o

o

o

o

d

d

o

o

f

f

t

t

h

h

e

e

I

I

n

n

n

n

o

o

c

c

e

e

n

n

t

t ' was chalked upon

many doors the next days.. At it

was no Lie...

As Cartwright was on his way home

a week later, on Saturday, April

18, riding back from

Huddersfield where he had went to

give evidence at the court-

22

Range Against the Machine

martial on a soldier who had

refused to fire. (the man was

sentenced to three hundred lashes)

he was fired at by two men, both

of then missed their aim.

21

But

this was only the beginning...

Just after the Rawfolds mill

affair, alarm was created by a

food riot at Sheffield on April

14, in which a mob, composed

mainly of women and boys, seized

potatoes and other vegetables and

attacked the storehouse of local

militia arms, taking away seventy-

eight stands of arms out of 864,

and damaging some!? 200 more!

On April 28, ten days later,after

Cartwright's attempt of

assassination William Horsfall

was shot by four men as he rode

home from Huddersfield market, and

died about two days later.

The “leading spirit” amongst the

executors was George Mellor, a

friend of the late John Booth,

prominent member among the

revolutionists seems to have

challenged the the new strategy

“

l

l

e

e

a

a

v

v

e

e

t

t

h

h

e

e

m

m

a

a

c

c

h

h

i

i

n

n

e

e

s

s

a

a

n

n

d

d

k

k

i

i

l

l

l

l

t

t

h

h

e

e

m

m

a

a

s

s

t

t

e

e

r

r

s

s” . Despite the

generous reward that was offered

all kept silent on the affair of

the murdering despite that

probably the majority knew or had

suspected who had done it. When no

result came from the

investigations; the authorities

began to blame each other; the

magistrates and military the same.

At this chronic period the cause

would "catch fire" the

concentration of the Luddites

would be the gathering of

ammunition as if they were

planning their great attack.

T

T

h

h

e

e

r

r

e

e

v

v

i

i

v

v

a

a

l

l

o

o

f

f

t

t

h

h

e

e

w

w

a

a

r

r

o

o

f

f

t

t

h

h

e

e

c

c

r

r

a

a

f

f

t

t

g

g

u

u

i

i

l

l

d

d

s

s

a

a

g

g

a

a

i

i

n

n

s

s

t

t

t

t

h

h

e

e

m

m

e

e

r

r

c

c

h

h

a

a

n

n

t

t

g

g

u

u

i

i

l

l

d

d

s

s

a

a

n

n

d

d

t

t

h

h

e

e

g

g

o

o

v

v

e

e

r

r

n

n

m

m

e

e

n

n

t

t

.

. Governmental forces

of a estimated total over 12000

soldiers along with the

“voluntary local militia” and a

network of spies and informants

were dispatched between the brave

men. This would not discourage

the Luddites instead now they

would plunder the churches for

lead and break into houses for

guns and ammunition seizing

everything they could melt in

order to make bullets. In

Stockport it was said that

“bodies of 100 men and upwards

entered houses in search of

weapons night after night.In West

Riding reports delivered to the

central government indications

spoke of an “open rebellion”

atmosphere within the air . Even

more alarming messages from spies

were warning of a “overthrow of

the government and destruction of

all property.”

Nevertheless for better or for

worst none of this happened

instead the government gave its

a response with and extensive

“come back” instituting arrests

trials and heavy punishment

leading to death or

transportation for the

protagonists .

In 1816 a revival of violence

partly again due to the downturn

on trade and partly due to the

bad harvest of that year; the

Luddites were reactivated and

attacked Heathcote and Boden's

mill in Loughborough, smashing 53

frames. On 28 June 1816 .Troops

were used to end the riots and ,

six men were executed and another

three were again transported to

Australia .

23

Range Against the Machine

By 1817 the Luddite movement had

ceased to be active in

Britain.What really became of them

? No one knows their hidden

weaponry you see was never found...

The trials

The death penalty did not, apply

to the frame-breakers of

Nottinghamshire which were in

custody awaiting the March

Assizes, since the Frame Breaking

Act was passed after their arrest.

The Assizes took place before Mr.

Justice Bayley in March. Nine

prisoners were trialed ; two were

acquitted (one of them of sending

a threatening letter), and the

remaining seven were sentenced to

be transported for either seven or

fourteen years to Australia.

William Carnell, aged twenty two,

and Joseph Maples, aged sixteen,

who were both acquitted on the

charge of burglary, had been

sentenced to fourteen years'

transportation for breaking into a

house in company with a party of

twelve and destroying seven

frames.

Late in October, six months after

Horsfall's death, his murderers

were apprehended. Early in

December some more arrests were

made : Job Hey, John Hill, and

William Hartley for stealing arms

in August ; James Hey, Joseph

Crowther, and Nathan Hoyle for

demanding firearms as late as

November 29.

By march 1812 all disturbances in

Lancashire and Cheshire had now

ended, and the numbers of the

rioters which were in prison,were

awaiting their trial.For the food

riots at Manchester, eight persons

were triald, six men, two women:

four were acquitted and four were

found guilty and received the

death sentence.

Of the four condemned, three John

Howarth, John Lee, and Thomas

Hoyle were found guilty of

breaking into John Holland's

house and stealing bread, cheese,

and potatoes.

The fourth, Hannah Smith, a woman

of fifty-four, had played a

violent part in the food riots

according to the accounts “ When

the mob had seized ten bushels of

potatoes in order to sell them

for a fairer price Hannah Smith

was heard to say, ' damn them we

will have them for nothing,' and

was also accuse of threatening

that ' we will not be satisfied

with Potatoes,' therefore but

demanding fairer prices for milk

and butter as well.

The rioters at Burton's at

Middleton, were charged with

arson. But the Manchester rioters

six men were trield for setting

fire to Burton's house and were

found guilty. Again for arson in

the successful attack on the West

Houghton factory, thirteen

prisoners were triald nine men,

two boys of fifteen and sixteen,

and two were girls of fifteen and

nineteen. The ' tender sex ' of

the two girls, Mary and Lydia

Molyneux, saved them from death

as they had played an active part

in the attack “with Muck Hooks

and Coal Picks in their Hands

breaking the Windows of the

Building they were swearing and

cursing the souls of those that

worked in the Factory.” John

Brownlow, the boy of fifteen, was

saved by his mother, whom two

witnesses described as having

pulled him away against his will.

24

Range Against the Machine

The four who were found guilty

were condemned to death. Their

names were Job Fletcher, Thomas

Kerfoot, James Smith, and Abraham

Charlson, aged sixteen .Abraham

Charlson the boy at the time of

his execution it is said that he

called on his mother for help

thinking she had the power to save

him.

For the fourth category of

offenses, namely illegal oaths,

fifteen men and boys were

sentenced to seven years'

transportation. Two more men were

sentenced to seven years'

transportation for breaking into a

mill at Worsley, and stealing

grain and flour, and six women and

girls and one man received the

punishment of six months

imprisonment for rioting at

Middleton(it is nor sure) .

The Special Commission opened at

York on Saturday, January 2, 1818.

6 The Judges were Mr. Baron

Thomson and Mr. Justice Le Blanc,

both of whom had already had been

present at the Lancaster trials.

The first trial was of four men,

Swallow, Batley, Fisher, and Lumb,

members of a plundering gang, .

All four were found guilty. Next

day, Wednesday, came the trial of

George Mellor, William

Thorpe, and Thomas Smith for

the murder of Horsfall, which

was evidenced by one their fellow

murderer, Benjamin Walker New

evidence though that have surfaces

contradict this (Huddersfield

Daily Examiner Jan 8 2009 "Why the

Luddites Fought Change").

All three were found guilty and

condemned to death.

Thursday was spent over the trial

of John Schofield for shooting at

John Hinchcliffe. Friday's

sitting of the court was taken up

with charges of administering

illegal oaths.

The trial of eight prisoners for

the attack on Cartwright's mill

was taken on Saturday, and lasted

the whole day. All the prisoners

were croppers of good character,

in the prime of life. Cartwright

and the others in the mill were

unable to identify any of the

assailants, but they were

betrayed by other accomplices,

helped by a few shreds of

corroborative evidence.Five of

the prisoners were found guilty

and three acquitted.

“Society ought not to exist, if

not for the benefit of the whole.

It is and must be against the law

of nature, if it exists for the

benefit of the few and for the

misery of the many. I say, then,

distinctly, that a society, in

which the common labourer . . .

cannot secure a sufficiency of

food and raiment, is a society

which ought not to exist; a

society contrary to the law of

nature; a societywhose compact is

dissolved.

22

William Cobbert

25

Range Against the Machine

References:

1 "The book of Days" Robert

Chambers

2 ibid

3 "Self Help"(1908) Samuel Smiles

(pg. 75,76)

4 Ibid Chambers

5 "History of the Machine-Wrought

Hosiery and lace Manufacturers"

(1867) Felkin William (pg.233)

6 Ibid Felkin (pg. 235)

7 "The Skilled Labourer" (1919) J.

L. (John Lawrence) and Barbara

Hammond (pg. 262)

8 Writings of the Luddites Kevin

Binfield (pg. 15,16)

9 Lecture 15 "Mechanization and

SocietyThe Luddite Riots (1811-

1816)" Department of History

University of California, Dr.

Barbara J. Becker

10 Binfield, Kevin. Luddites and

Luddism: History, Texts

Interpretation.

11Ibid Smiles (pg. 75,76)

12 Radcliffe wrote the essay

“Origin of the New System of

Manufacture, Commonly Called Power

loom Weaving.” (1828)

13Ibid Hammond (pg. 271)

14 Ibid (pg. 273)

15 Ibid (pg.288)

16 Ibid (pg. 271)

17 I bid (pg. 289)

18 Ibid

19 Ibid (pg. 304)

20 Ibid (pg. 307)

21Ibid (pg.308)

22 Political Register, 11

September 1819

26

Masking and Archaic Justice

Norman Simms in his Article: "Ned

Lud's Mummers Play" (1978)

examines the Luddite rebellion

from a folklore point of view

catching more on the rather

"mythical" figure of Ned Ludd.

Simms interestingly calls upon

archaic values such as “

t

t

h

h

e

e

j

j

u

u

r

r

i

i

d

d

i

i

c

c

a

a

l

l

n

n

a

a

t

t

u

u

r

r

e

e

o

o

f

f

j

j

u

u

s

s

t

t

i

i

c

c

e

e”

utterly comparing it with the

Luddite activities, who sought

revenge swearing on this ancient

understanding of justice which

lies altogether within the forces

of nature itself .Such notions of

the juridical nature of justice

find way in the expressions of all

countries and cultures in all

times .

Observant of the details and

tactics in which the Luddite

revolutionaries were engaged

Simms derives information from

various sources, pointing out the

use of masks, disguises, special

calls, and other activities

perfectly connecting these

findings with past popular satires

and folk theatrical plays (such as

the “Mummers play”

1

)which

thoroughly communicated either by

chant or by mock provocative

messages to their victims

therefore an producing an “utter

form of violence.”

If one wishes to infiltrate with-

in the notional value of

“archaic justice” he/she should

not keep his/her mind nailed down

to the bounding limits of westerns

society's modern evolution.

(Modern civilization is more or

less merely 100 years old

therefore such is our genetic

experience as well). Folk

tradition is a very strong element

in human nature and if one

removes his/her "blinds" he will

be able recognize it, within

today's society as well.

The question of the

"

"

J

J

u

u

r

r

i

i

d

d

i

i

c

c

a

a

l

l

r

r

i

i

g

g

h

h

t

t

t

t

o

o

v

v

i

i

o

o

l

l

e

e

n

n

c

c

e

e

2

2

w

w

i

i

t

t

h

h

i

i

n

n

t

t

r

r

a

a

d

d

i

i

t

t

i

i

o

o

n

n

a

a

l

l

c

c

o

o

m

m

m

m

u

u

n

n

i

i

t

t

i

i

e

e

s

s

”

”

is

the second of archaic values that

Simms examines within the context

of the Luddite rebellion, or of

rebellion itself if one wants to

extend the problem to further

thinking.

Simms categorizes the keepers of

these rights, separated in two

sides. On one side stand the

established authorities which

“external and alien” to the

traditional societies have

imposed their power upon the

people i.e the squire, the

parson, the magistrate, the

school teacher, and the tax

collector.On the other side stand

the “traditional agents of

the village community's

archaic power” i.e. certain

families or clans which were

traditionally associated with

rights of access to common lands,

streams and pathways, or craft

fraternities who had their their

families and “craft mysteries”

to protect; ultimately

individuals whose personalities

were suited to represent the

common sense of justice.

The seconds group entitlement to

“

a

a

r

r

c

c

h

h

a

a

i

i

c

c

j

j

u

u

s

s

t

t

i

i

c

c

e

e” may

irrevocably be demonstrated

through words, acts and symbols

which are kept secret since they

are not part of the alien-

established authority. Thus

naturally comes the need for

disguise.

Masking and Archaic Justice.

27

Masking and Archaic Justice

The disguise of the person as well

as the act becomes only stronger

when the victim does not accept

retributive justice; this secrecy

especially needed when the victims

are part of the dominant power

system that has been imposed on to

the community.

Thus comes the conclusion that

during the Luddite uprisings , the

followers of Ned Ludd a.k.a. the

army of redressers disguised

themselves as strangers partly to

avoid detection by the magistrates

and partly to appear as the

“

i

i

m

m

p

p

e

e

r

r

s

s

o

o

n

n

a

a

l

l

f

f

o

o

r

r

c

c

e

e

s

s

o

o

f

f

a

a

r

r

c

c

h

h

a

a

i

i

c

c

j

j

u

u

s

s

t

t

i

i

c

c

e

e” they sought of getting

rid of the polluting object that

poisoned their community thus

punishing with action of violence

the property owners who refused to

recognize the juridical integrity

of the craft-villages.

References :

1.Mummers' Plays in English

tradition (also known as mumming)

are seasonal folk plays performed

by troupes of actors known as

mummers or guisers (or by local

names such as rhymers, pace-

eggers, soulers, tipteerers,

galoshins, guysers, and so

on.)Such forms of play exist in

almost all cultures.Existing as a

need of the folk to criticize the

wrong doings of the established

authority.

2.Verbal violence is also

considered a form of Violence.

This form of violence has been is

exercised within traditional

communities in the form of satire

since ancient times. Humiliation

by mocking chants or jostling on

the street during folk-plays are

common ,minor forms of folk

violence.

3.Norman Simms is Associate

professor at the Department of

Humanities/English, University of

Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand he

refers to himself as s

psychohistorian his main research

interests being Middle English

and Eighteenth-Century

literature, especially origins of

the novel, history of

mentalities, and Jewish

civilization. He is a poet and

reviewer and has compiled several

anthologies and written numerous

scholarly articles and

monographs. The examined article

was written as early as 1978

titled ‘Ned Ludd's Mummers’

Play’, Folklore, 89 , (pg 166-178)

28

Underground Movements

When it comes to underground

movements there is always a

charming aura which surrounds

them. In this first issue of

>

>

>

>

t

t

h

h

e

e

b

b

o

o

m

m

b

b

i

i

l

l

l

l

a

a

<

<

<

< we will

introduce a underground

organization that is active as we

speak… The name of the group is

>

>

>

>

L

L

a

a

M

M

e

e

x

x

i

i

c

c

a

a

i

i

n

n

e

e

D

D

e

e

P

P

e

e

r

r

f

f

o

o

r

r

a

a

t

t

i

i

o

o

n

n

<

<

<

< and although we do not hold any

ties with them we are indeed

impressed by their executing

capacity and style. If we were to

give a general idea of the

group’s activities we could talk

of people's gathering dedicated

educational deeds ! Their actions

actually speak for

themselves...but what do we

actually know about them? Their

turf so long is the city of

Paris...

Paris except for its alleged

reputation as the “City of Light”

is also famous for its

underground facilities we are of

course talking of the “carrières

de Paris” or "quarries of Paris" a

number of underground mines that

were formed during the stone

quarrying that was needed to built

the city . They are situated just

under the capital of France. Mines

and galleries that are connect to

each other running more or less

for 280 kilometers underground.

During the 18th century, the then

growth of the Paris population

resulted in the saturation of the

existing cemeteries. Towards the

end of the 18th century, a limited

part of the above mentioned

network was used as an

underground ossuary for the

remains of approximately six

million Parisian citizens.

Reading from the official website

of the "Ossuaire Municipal" we

are informed that the removal of

the bones began on April 7, 1786

and was continued until 1788, as

well as the fact that from the

day of their creation, the

Catacombs were a subject of acute

curiosity. Historic figures who

had visited them among others

included: In 1787, Lord of d'

Artois, who would later become

Charles X, went for an

underground tour in company of

ladies from the Court.The

following year, the visit of

Madam de Polignac and Madam de

Guiche is mentioned . In 1814,

François 1st, emperor of Austria,

residing as a winner in Paris

visited them as well. In 1860,

Napoleon III went down under

together with his son.

Popular culture has also

immortilized the Paris

underground... who hasn't read

of inspector Javert and Jean

Valjean's escape through the

sewers in the set of “Les

miserables” of Victor Hugo.

Nevertheless to this day public

tours are possible on a daily

basis and about two kilometres of

the passages are open to the

public the rest are strictly

prohibited...

Which brings us to our subject:

on August 23rd of 2004 the Paris

police discovered a fully

equipped cinema-cum-restaurant

(!) in a large and previously

uncharted underground cavern.

Les Arènes de Chaillot or "The

Chaillot Arenas"

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47

Underground Movements

Featuring a full-sized cinema

screen, projection equipment,

tapes of a wide variety of films,

(including 1950s film noir

classics and recent thrillers) as

well as an informal restaurant and

bar(!) The premises enjoyed a

professionally installed

electricity system at least three

phone lines and a closed-circuit

TV camera that even triggered a

tape of dogs barking!!! for the

unwanted visitors intimidation.

Amazing indeed.

But there is more ... Since it is

popular amongst daredevils to

occasionally stroll within the

capacity of quarries, this has led

to the formation of a special

police force responsible to keep

away the catafiles by frequently

patrolling the Paris underground.

It was this team that in one of

their patrols came upon the site

beneath the Palais de Chaillot,

across the Seine from the Eiffel

Tower.When the Police came back

after 3 days with officials of the

French electricity company they

found a note warning them :

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”

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The City of Paris indeed is well

known for its hundreds of

kilometers of underground

quarries. Moreover, for numerous

Urban Explorers all over the

world, Paris is the “Mecca of

Urban Exploration” and what the

French police discovered on august

23rd 2004 is the proof of the

capacity of the movement.The band

of Urban Explorers known as >>La

Mexicaine De Perforation<<(The

Perforating Mexicans) built an

entire cinema under the Chaillot

Hill,situated just few meters from

the Eiffel tower on the other bank

of the river Seine. All through

the summer of 2004, La Mexicaine

De Perforation managed their

cinema screening dozens of movies

in the namely “Urbex Movies

festival”.You can even find the

Movie program of the festival at

Urban-Resources an information

bank devoted to photography,

architecture, industrial

archeology and urban exploration.

The news soon hit the big

mainstream publishing houses i.e

National Geographic featured an

article named “Paris's Urban

Underground” as well as others

in the “The Guardian” and “La

Liberation”. Whats really

interesting is that the "The

Perforating Mexicans" are just

part of a bigger group of

activists called "The UX" or in

their native language “Les

UX”.Amongs their known subgroups

ones are the "The Mouse House"

(an all-female team) and the

"Undergunther"

The Untergunther as mentioned

above a subgroup of “les UX”

consists between others of

architects and historians.They

achieved noteworthy attention for

a project they completed

something more than 2.5 years

ago. The Untergunther's

activities attain amongst others

restoring blemished monuments,

without permission ! In other

words they do what the government

or officials don't do or don't

care to do... self initiation

they call it.

Lets see some of their

achievements:

48

Underground Movements

In September 2005, the

Untergunther installed a

workshop, called UGWK, at the top

of the Pantheon (a building in

the Latin Quarter in Paris build

in the late 18th Century) , which

as they inform us was previously

used as a clandestine theater by

the >>La Mexicaine De

Perforation<<.

Then, on their own funding, they

restored the 19th-century Wagner

clock a timepiece that had been

working for over a century and as

they suggest someone apparently

tired of its weekly winding

sabotaged its gears during the

1960. The group invited Jean-

Baptiste Viot , a professional

clockmaker, to directed a “year

long aesthetic and mechanical

restoration process”. The rest of

the story pretty much involves a

little bit of everything a second

attempt of sabotage from the CMN

(the governmental department in

charge of the administration of

Pantheon ) in fear of humiliation

as well as pressing changes

against the Untergunther group

which resulted to involvement

of the mainstream press most

notably the Times and a trial

which took place on November of

2007 and which outcome result was

the drop of all charges...

Navigate yourself to their

website and you will find more

details on their achievements,

documented evidence read their

story; articles; contact them

and even watch a video performing

Live!

Sources:

http://ugwk.org/

http://www.urban-resources.net

Pic 1: Paris Catacombs.

Pic 2: Underground Theatre

Pic 3 : Map of the Catacombs of

Paris

49

Olympic Flame

In the ruins of the Temple of

Hera, in Olympia 14 virgin

priestesses dressed in white

robes, under the supervision of a

fifteenth High priestess plea to

Apollo god of sun and light to

ignite the “sacred” flame:

"

"

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"

"

Th Olympic flame of the Modern

Olympic Games was born on the

site of the Ancient Games in

Olympia Greece.

The technique was accordingly to

the ancient Greek “tradition”,

focusing the rays of the Sun in a

specially designed concave

mirror. This Neo-Pagan ceremony

would continue to take place for

the years to come on the same

ground and with the same ritual;

only to survive and to emerge

into the envious-globally

recognised saluted event. The

Olympic Torch Relay without doubt

is one of the most recognisable

symbols of the Olympic Games, the

top athletic event of the world.

"The Olympic Games are a festival of pleasure and optimism. They call

together the youth of the entire world. I am convinced that these

young people will be the best exponents of understanding and peaceful

cooperation between nations. The spirit of sportsmanship is the spirit

of chivalry and respect for achievement. Honourable nations respecting

one another mutually are the strongest guarantee of peaceful

cooperation"

Dr. Frick Reich Minister of the Interior.

“The most significant and striking of the ceremonial aspects connected

with the Olympic Games is the Olympic Fire. Ignited during the opening

ceremony, it burns day and night at the Olympic Stadium and other

scenes of competition during the period of the Games”

Official report of the 11th Olympic Games

“The torch relay is so ingrained in the modern choreography that most

people today assume it was a revival of a pagan tradition, unaware

that it was actually concocted for Hitler’s Games in Berlin,”

Tony Perrottet, “The Naked Olympics.”

The Secret Story of the Olympic Flame

Light and Symbolism

Olympic Flame

The Olympic Flame today, is

considered a symbol of “Peace

and Brotherhood” between nations

and countries and the Olympic

Torch relay is a highly noble

event which most people consider

a honour to participate in; an

indispensable feature and

characteristic of the Olympic

Games.What is less known is that

this ceremony was an initiated

by the Nazi propaganda machine

and the motives behind its

creation were nothing else but

innocent (!).

On the 20th of July 1936, an

actress featuring the High

priestess of Apollo the Greek

Olympian Sun God, in the ruins

of Ancient Olympia, lit the

first Olympic torch; causing its

ignition by placing it inside a

burnished-steel concave mirror,

thus concentrating the rays of

the sun to create fire.

The "sacred fire" would begin its

journey passing its flame from

hand to hand, traveling thousands

of miles on foot, on a continuous

journey. Day and Night, only

designated to reach remote Berlin

in a ceremony which commemorated

and celebrated the Power of the

Reich. Nevertheless the torch

relay would symbolically serve

yet another purpose… >>Perfect

Conceptualism<< creating a link

between the ancient and the

Modern, Olympia and Berlin,

Ancient Greek Civilization and

the newborn Pan-Germanic Nation;

Ancient Greece believed to have

been an Aryan forerunner of the

Modern German Reich; all melding

perfectly with the notions of

Aryan racial superiority.

In the following article on the

Olympic flame and torch relay we

will convey first hand-authentic

information as well as

picturesque representations and

rare photographic documentation

of the pioneer event which was

destined to mark the Course of

Olympic Games once and for all.

We will begin our journey in the

time capsule of the bombilla

delivering information coming

directly from the official

reports of the 11th Olympic

Games. A report which is

conducted every 4 years and

exists for all the Olympiads to

date. Most information is apposed

verbatim to your disposal as

further comments were considered

not necessary at all...Enjoy :

“The Olympic torch relay run

began at noon on July 20th in

Olympia, where the sacred fire

was ignited by Greek maidens on

the threshold of the ancient

Stadium and carried through the

Altis to the altar at the foot of

the Kronos. Here, at a special

“stele” erected in honour of

Coubertin, the first runner

ignited his torch and departed.

This ceremony was broadcast to

the whole world, (…) From this

time on, hourly reports about the

progress of the relay run arrived

at the Headquarters of the

Organizing Committee, and as the

Olympic flame neared its goal the

enthusiasm increased throughout

Europe. Berlin had already been

festively adorned for the

occasion. Tall masts had been

erected along the entire route

from the Town Hall, past the

Royal Palace to the Stadium, and

the streets were decorated with

banners and garlands after the

plans of the architect, Herr

Lottermoser.”(Official Report.

Vol I. pg 86)

Olympic Flame

The Radio Coverage mentioned

above that reached the ears of

the German people brought forth

only the cheerful receptions and

hurrays for the flame thus

reflected an overall embracing

feeling as well as the

impression of the general

acceptance of the Reich. Covering

the ceremonies and the route

through the countries that the

flame traveled through on going

its log trip to Berlin. The relay

run covered the following general

route:

"The lengthy course was divided

into stretches of 1,000 metres,

each was covered by a runner, who

then passed the Olympic Fire to

his successor. The Organizing

Committee estimated that an

average time of 5 minutes was

required for each 1,000 metres"

(Ibid pg 512 Vol I)

“The Organizing Committee

maintained constant connections

with the groups in charge of the

Olympic Torch Relay Run in the

different countries. The reports

received shortly before the first

runner left Olympia indicated

that an unusual degree of

interest prevailed in every

nation. Each of the 3,075 runners

felt that he was an exponent of

the Olympic ideals, and all

cooperated gladly in the mission

of transferring the Olympic Fire

from hand to hand for 10 days and

nights until the final bearer

arrived at the Berlin Stadium on

August 1st to ignite the fire

which would burn throughout the

Olympic period. All were

conscious of the symbolic

significance of this relay run,

which represented a link, so to

speak, between the ancient and

the modern Festival.The eyes of

the entire world were turned

expectantly to Olympia when the

Olympic Fire was ignited at noon

on Monday, July 20th, 1936”(pg

515 Vol I)

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“It was a moment deeply

impressive in its solemnity when

the first runner ignited his

torch and, accompanied by the

enthusiasm of the spectators who

had gathered from far and near,

began the first stage of the

relay run which would end in

Berlin. A broadcasting car of the

German Broadcasting Company

accompanied the Olympic Fire

throughout its journey(...)

Olympic Flame

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The Germany Broadcasting Company

with all of its affiliated

stations brought this unique

event to every part of Germany,

and numerous foreign companies

transmitted the ceremony.(…)Like

the German Broadcasting Company,

the Olympic Film Companysent an

expedition to Greece under the

leadership of Leni Riefenstahl to

accompany the Olympic Fire to

Berlin. Countless enthusiasts

lent their support to this event

in the different countries so

that the Torch Relay Run became a

triumphal procession of the

Olympic Fire from modern Hellas

to Berlin, and one which will

undoubtedly attain a permanent

place in the history of the

Games. The enthusiasm and

participation of the population

all along the route were without

precedent. Even when the runner

passed through a town or village

in the middle of the night all of

the inhabitants turned out to

cheer him on his way.”(Ibid pg.

518,519 )

Greece:

“Since sporting clubs existed

only in the larger cities,

peasant youths from the districts

through which the Fire passed

were usually enlisted as torch

bearers (…) and ran in their

national costumes, which included

the short, full skirt or

“fustanella.” In compliance with

the suggestions of the Organizing

Committee, the Greek Olympic

Committee organized special

ceremonies at various appropriate

points, these being in the nature

of popular festivals(…) On every

occasion the orator expressed the

gratitude of the New Hellas to

the New Germany for having

instituted the Olympic Torch

Relay Run. Even in spite of

streaming rain the entire

population of Saloniki was

present at the ceremony held

there. From this city the course

of the relay run passed through

the rich plains of Serrés to the

Bulgarian frontier.” (Ibid pg.

521)

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Olympic Flame

Bulgaria:

“The entire course through

Bulgaria was marked off by the

Bulgarian Labour Service(…)

Ascending rapidly above the

rushing Struma, the highway

continued in the direction of

Sofia. Excellent organization

enabled every difficulty to be

surmounted; the entire course was

designated by road signs bearing

the five Olympic rings(…)In

addition to the scheduled

ceremonies, short festivities

were held in practically every

village along the route. The most

outstanding of all was the

magnificent ceremony held in

Sofia, on which occasion the

broad square in front of the

cathedral was packed with an

enthusiastic crowd in festive

attire. The transferring of the

Fire to the Yugoslav runner at

the frontier was in the nature of

a demonstration of Bulgarian-

Yugoslav friendship ”(Ibid pg.

523)

Pic 4: The Olympic torch relay

ceremony held in Sofia

Yugoslavia:

“The preparations in Yugoslavia

were also adequate for meeting

every requirement (…) The

population participated

enthusiastically in the

ceremonies which were held at

Kragujevac as well as at the

grave of King Alexander in

Topola. In Belgrade the fountain

on the Terazija was transformed

into a high altar from which the

Olympic Fire burned during the

ceremony in the Capital City.

Most of the Yugoslav runners

belonged to the Sokol Federation,

and many peasants ran in the

curious long-tongued shoes common

to the country. The Fire was

carried through the villages

inhabited by the German minority

group by the descendants of

Swabian peasants, who were

cheered enthusiastically by the

villagers. Following ceremonies

in Novisad and Subotica, the

Olympic Fire was passed on to the

Hungarian runners ”(Ibid pg. 526)

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Olympic Flame

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“On the stretch from Budapest to

the frontier a slight detour was

made through the Hungarian mining

district, the torch-bearers

running past high mining shafts

and through workers settlements

in order to bring an Olympic

greeting to the miners. The speed

of the runners was increased

slightly in Hungary in order to

gain time for ceremonies in

Szegedin and Kecskemét. In

Kecskemét, (…), an altar was

erected on the idyllic market

square (…).The peasants arrived

in great numbers for this event,

wearing their colourful

traditional costumes. Gypsies

along the way serenaded the

runners with music and the gypsy

chieftain, Magyari, performed

during the ceremony in Budapest.

(…)Accompanied by jubilant cries

of “Elyen!,” the runners hastened

through the Hungarian landscape

to the Austro-Hungarian frontier,

where the guards were powerless

in the face of the enthusiastic

crowds that assembled there as

the Fire was transferred to the

first Austrian runner. The

addresses of greeting and

ceremony of passing on the Fire

took place amidst boundless

jubilation.”(Ibid pg. 526,527)

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Austria:

“It was only with difficulty that

the President of the Austrian

Olympic Committee, as the first

Austrian runner, could make his

way through the crowd (…). The

ceremony in Vienna formed the

climax to the festivities in

Austria, and no one who was

present is likely to forget the

picture of the torch-bearer

silhouetted against the evening

sky as he approached the

Heldentor to ignite the Olympic

Fire at the altar high above the

principal square. Spotlights

played upon the tower containing

the Austrian sporting banner and

crowned by the Olympic flag which

had been erected in the Burg

Courtyard. The entrance of the

Olympic Fire into Vienna took the

form of a triumphal procession of

quite unexpected proportions. The

members of the Austrian sporting

federations had all turned out at

twilight, and an endless parade

proceeded through the festively

decorated streets to the scene of

the ceremony at which numerous

government and municipal

personages were present. The

slight delay in the departure of

the runner from this ceremony was

soon made up, and the fire

arrived at the Czechoslovak

frontier at the appointed

minute.”(Ibid pg. 528)

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Olympic Flame

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“The Olympic Fire was transferred

at the Czechoslovak-Austrian

frontier while two thick

phalanxes of sportsmen and

spectators looked on. State

police were on hand to keep the

way open. The special interest

which was evidenced throughout

Czechoslovakia in the Olympic

Torch Relay Run is indicated by

the fact that the President of

the Republic participated in the

ceremony which was held in

Prague. On this occasion the

venerable buildings on the market

square lent a special

impressiveness to the

festivities. The runner departed

for the German border at 1

o’clock in the morning, cheered

by the enthusiastic spectators.

On Friday, July 31st, at 11.45

a.m. the last Czechoslovak runner

handed the Fire to the German

athletes in Hellendorf. Full of

pride, the German runners carried

the Fire in the direction of

Berlin.”(Ibid pg. 530)

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.

As the flame passed from

Czechoslovakian to German hands

it went through a number of

city’s to be celebrated before it

reached Berlin. Let’s have a look

on how it was welcomed :

“The entire route through Saxony

was lined by phalanxes of the

members of National Socialist

Party organizations, school

children and sportsmen. When the

report that the Olympic Fire had

crossed the German frontier

arrived at the Market Square in

Pirna, fanfares were blown by

Hitler Youth groups, and as the

last notes died out the church

bells began to ring. In Dresden a

special ceremony was held on the

Koenigsufer opposite the Bruehl

Terrace (…) The arrival of the

runner was announced through

fanfares blown by the Hitler

Youth trumpeters (…) The third

ceremony in Germany took place at

the Market Square in Meissen,

where the approach of the Olympic

Fire was again heralded by

fanfares blown from the towers of

the town. After an Olympic Fire

had been ignited at an altar in

front of the Town Hall, the

District Leader of the National

Socialist Party and the Mayor of

the town held addresses "(Ibid

pg.531)

“The arrival of the Fire in Bad

Liebenwerda was the occasion of a

particularly impressive ceremony.

As the night was starlit and

warm, a festive air prevailed

throughout the town, and more

than 20,000 persons assembled at

the principal square, which was

bathed in the illumination of

floodlights and thousands of

candles " (Ibid pg. 532)

Olympic Flame

"The flags of the 7 nations

through which the Olympic Fire

had been carried waved over the

square, and three shots from the

1,000 year old landmark of the

town, the Lubwart Tower, which

was also illuminated and adorned

with the five Olympic rings(…)

The Organizing Committee had

planned a special programme for

the forenoon of August lst, its

climax to be the youth ceremony

in the Lustgarten. After 25,000

German youths as well as the

youth groups from 28 nations had

assembled in impressive array and

members of the Reich Government

had held addresses, trumpet

fanfares announced the approach

of the Olympic Fire" (Ibid)

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Olympic Flame

“The Olympic Fire arrived at the

outskirts of Greater Berlin at

10.48(…) The final route led

through Wilhelm Strasse and down

the central promenade of Unter

den Linden to the Palace Bridge.

The flame could be seen

approaching over the countless

heads of the assembled Hitler

Youths, and cheers rang out as it

came nearer. Then the last torch

bearer ran down the centre aisle

of the Lustgarten to the altar,

which was erected before the

steps of the Museum. Here the

International Olympic Committee

witnessed for the first time the

lighting of the Olympic Fire. As

the flames sprang up, the bearer

ran back across the Lustgarten to

a second altar in front of the

Palace, where another Olympic

Fire was ignited.” (Ibid pg. 540)

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Olympic Flame

Adolf Hitler,as Patron of the

Olympic Games held a reception

ceremony for the International

Olympic Committee and Count

Baillet-Latour held a speech.

This is an "excellent" extract

from that speech addressing the

Führer and the German nation.:

“I feel certain that the

stupendous preparations which

Germany has made for the Olympic

Games and which are particularly

obvious in the excellent

organization of the Festival will

constitute a permanent monument

to the contribution which she has

made to human culture in general.

All those who appreciate the

symbolism of the sacred flame

which has been borne from Olympia

to Berlin are profoundly grateful

to your Excellency for having not

only provided the means of

binding the past and the present,

but also for having contributed

to the progress of the Olympic

ideals in future years.”(Ibid pg.

540-541)

The chancellor and patron only in

return of these kind words

thanked the Count and sworn

“eternal faith” to the Olympic

ideas etc… they then all headed

for the stadium

“The streets, which were lined by

members of the National Socialist

Motor Corps, Storm Troops and

Special National Socialist

Guards, were thronged from

beginning to end with countless

thousands of spectators, and the

enthusiastic applause proved to

the International Olympic

Committee that the German nation

was actually and sincerely

participating in the Festival.

The streets resembled a sea of

flags, and the rousing enthusiasm

of the crowds rendered the trip

from the centre of the city to

the Stadium a veritable triumphal

Olympic procession. Every square

was densely packed, and

handkerchiefs were waved from all

the windows as Berlin greeted in

true festive spirit the beginning

of the Olympic Games. A few drops

of rain did not dampen the

enthusiasm, and the weather

cleared up at the same moment as

the German Chancellor entered the

Reich Sport Field.” (Ibid pg. 544)

“The Olympic Stadium was packed

long before the opening ceremony

began, but the spectators were

well entertained. The Olympic

Symphony Orchestra (…) presented

a concert under the direction of

Professor Havemann” (Ibid pg. 544)

Finally the flame would reach the

Olympic Stadium of Berlin where

in a glorious scenery decorated

with swastikas and Olympic flags,

side by side and under

fanfares,and thousands of frantic

Germans performing the Nazi

salute shouting 'Zeig Heil' would

watch upon Fritz Schilgen the

national champion runner, run

into the stadium and light the

Olympic cauldron giving the sign

of the opening of the 11th

Olympic summer Games.

But just some moments before…

Olympic Flame

Dr.Lewald :In only a few moments

now will appear the torch-bearer,

who will bear the Olympic fire

aloft to the tripod from which,

during these festive weeks, the

Olympic flame will ascend to the

sky. He is the last of over 3,000

youths, belonging to seven

nations, who for thousands of

miles have followed one another

in the greatest relay race which

the world has ever seen. From the

altar of the temple of Zeus in

ancient Olympia, through Hellas

and Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and

Hungary, through Austria,

Czechoslovakia and Germany, the

flame has been carried.Over

mountains and valleys, on hard or

dusty roads, through rain and

darkness, in the heat of the

noonday sun and through the

coolness of the nights, in order

to create both an actual and a

spiritual bond of fire between

our German fatherland and the

ancient Greek shrine, founded

nearly four thousand years ago by

settlers from northern

lands.”(Ibid pg.562)

When Dr. Lewald had concluded his

address, the German Chancellor

Adolf Hitler prounounced the

following words amidst an

impressive silence:

“

“I proclaim

open the Olympic Games of

Berlin, celebrating the

Eleventh Olympiad of the

modern era.

”

”(Ibid pg. 563)

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Olympic Flame

“The commander of the procesion,

Major Feuchtinger, gave the

command, “Hoist flag!,” and the

Olympic emblem was slowly

elevated to the top of the mast

which had been erected at the

western end of the Stadium. The

artillery detachment fired

saluting salvos, and clouds of

carrier pigeons arose from the

walls of the May Field. Each one

bore the colours of the

participating nations, and

carried the news of the opening

of the Games throughout the

world. The trumpets were again

heard from the Marathon Towers,

this time playing the fanfare

which introduced the Olympic

Hymn. Richard Strauss himself

conducted his composition, which

was rendered publicly for the

first time, and the Stadium

resounded from the flood of

melody as a gigantic chorus sang

the jubilant verses. (Ibid pg.

563,564)

“As the Hymn came to an end and

the resounding call, “Festival

of peace! Olympia !,” echoed

through the Stadium, the cheers

of the multitudes outside were

heard, since the moment had

arrived for which friends of

sport throughout the world had

been waiting. The Olympic Fire,

which had left Olympia eleven

days before, was about to arrive

at its destination. A slender

youth appeared at the East Gate

of the Stadium holding a torch

aloft. As in greeting, he

remained for a moment at the top

of the steps, then ran lightly

into the arena and passed the

phalanxes of the teams standing

in formation upon the field. For

many this was the climax of the

entire Festival. With rapid,

elastic strides he ran up the

Marathon steps to the altar which

contained the bronze tripod.

After raising the torch again for

a final time in greeting, he

illuminated the Fire at the

altar, which according to the

regulations shall burn in the

Stadium during the 16 days of the

Games. It was a moment in which

every heart beat faster, an

occasion which in its solemnity

impressed all alike.”

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.

Olympic Flame

For many as we read this was the

climax of the entire Festival.

"It was a moment in which every

heart beat faster, an occasion

which in its solemnity impressed

all alike.”

Whether we like it or not this is

the truth of the introduction of

the >>Olympic torch relay<<

within the institution of the

Olympic Games . As we are

informed from the 2nd edition of

Olympic Museum Report on the

Olympic flame and the Olympic

Torch Relay (pg 6): In 1936, Carl

Diem, Secretary General of the

Organizing Committee of the Games

of the XI Olympiad in Berlin,

proposed the inclusion of a torch

relay in the programme of the

Olympics . The flame was lit in

Olympia and transported to Berlin

via a torch relay. Carl Diem who

was in charge in the organisation

of the Berlin Olympics on a visit

to Greece for an Olympic

conference in 1934, along with

the President of the Organizing

Committee, Theodore Lewald had in

common the inspiring idea of

creating a link between the

ancient Greek and the modern

Olympic Games. Together with the

“majesty” of minister of

propaganda Joseph Goebbels this

event would create a far-reaching

blown out of proportion; over

ambitious result as were the sum

of the Reich’s displays.

Nevertheless it should be

mentioned here that the idea of a

burning flame had been in fact

introduced in the previous

Olympiad held in the Netherlands

and it had been used in the Los

Angeles Olympics as well but the

“genius conception” of a torch

relay was far more than anybody

had imagined and surely only the

extravagance of the Nazi Reich

could come up with the thought as

well as the execution of such an

attempt. Therefore a pageantry

was staged which would kindled

the flame in Greece in Olympia

and bring it all the way on

foot(!) to the Olympic stadium of

Berlin.

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Olympic Flame

Only to Imagine the boundaries

of such an attempt! However its

execution was conceived planned

and carried out by the Nazi

administration with all the

complications that this undoubted

truth fossils…

What is utterly strange is that

that the so called “Democratic”

countries embraced the Neo-Pagan

Ceremony, which was of specific

service to its animators -keeping

the show on the road- they

allowed deliberately all the

nations to believe that the flame

was somehow connected with

Olympia and the ancient Olympic

Games; when as a matter of fact

it’s a common secret that there

was NO such torch relay in the

ancient Olympic games in Greece

whatsoever. Today one can even

read this fact, as a statement in

the official Olympic Museums

Report release on the Olympic

flame and the Games : “There was

never a relay organised for the

either ancient Olympic Games or

other Pan-Hellenic Games

(organised in Nemea, Delphi and

Isthmia)”.(Olympic Museum Report

pg 4)

From the same source we may now

learn the truth: “However, in

Athens, flame races called

lampadedromia were organised to

honour certain gods, including

Prometheus. The flame was

transmitted by runners and the

first competitor to arrive at the

altar of the god had the honour

of renewing its fire”.(Ibid pg 4)

In the same pamphlet we may also

read : “In the context of the

modern Games, the Olympic flame

represents the positive values

that Man has always associated

with fire. The purity of the

flame is guaranteed by the way it

is lit using the sun’s rays.The

choice of Olympia as a departure

point emphasizes the link between

the Ancient and Modern Games and

underlines the profound

connection between these two

events”.In other words the

Olympic Games administration

accepts all that the flame stood

for in the days of the 3rd Reich…

Pic 21: The first Olympic Torch

Pic 22: Poster of the Olympia -

Berlin torch Relay

Olympic Flame

Lets have a look upon the "image

board" which the German design

team worked with in order to

create this indisputably

successful event: What gave

thought and inspiration to the

formation of this Neo-pagan

ceremony?

These are the facts a) The

Lampadadromia, which a religious

torch race occurring during

religious festivals in antiquity

that survived until Roman times

b) The the never extinguished

sacred fire that burned

continuously in the altar of

Hestia in the the Prytaneium of

Olympia also known as "eternal

flame" as well as the sacred fire

that burned in the altar of Zeus

during the games. c) The fact

that messengers were sent to

vocally announce the beginning of

the Games in order to guarantee

save passage to the competitors

who wished to participate.

In the book "Greek Athletic

Sports and Festivals" by E.Norman

Gardiner (1910). Grandier refers

to the torch race several times

as well as on the existence of

the >>lambadedromia<< he informs

us that this was a religious

ritual for which individuals or

teams on foot or on horseback

competed holding a light torch.

The purpose of the competition

was to arrive first with the

torch still lit in order to light

the alter. An interesting thought

is the indication from the author

that the origins of racing,itself

derives from the torch-race, “in

which the competitors, starting

from the distance of a stade,

raced with lighted torches to the

altar, the one who arrived first

and lighted the fire receiving

the prize”

Explaining the origin of the

lambadedromia he says “thus the

torch-race, which we meet with in

many parts of Greece, was

connected with the primitive

custom of periodically

distributing new and holy fire

from the sacred hearth where it

had been kindled".

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Olympic Flame

The following extract coming from

the release of the Olympic Museum

on the Olympic Torch Relay and

the Olympic Flame only confirms

the above :“At a set time before

the start of the ancient Olympic

Games,. They invited the citizens

to come to Olympia and proclaimed

the sacred truce (ekecheiria),

that is, the obligation to halt

combats one month before and

during the period of the Games.

In this way, the athletes and

spectators could travel without

fear to Olympia and back

home.”(Ibid pg.4)

In the following plan we can see

what surfaced from the German

excavations of Olympia. Hereby

where number 9 is marked we can

descry the Prytaneium where the

eternal fire of Hestia burned

whereas where number 3 is marked

stood the Altar of Zeus.

Olympic Flame

The Igniting of the

flame

The official report of the 11th

Olympic Games informs us that

people from all over Greece as

well as Greek governmental

representatives were present at

the ceremony which marked the

ignition of the first Olympic

torch which was held in the

Altis. “Olympia thus became once

more for a day the centre of

interest of the Greek nation.”

“The German Charge d’Affaires,

representatives of the German

Broadcasting Company and press

correspondents from throughout

the world were present at the

altar erected in front of the new

entrance to the north of the

Prytaneion and outside the

Altis(…)The ceremony of lighting

the fire itself took place at the

starting base of the Olympic

Stadium, spectators not being

admitted. Fifteen young Greek

maidens entered the ancient

stadium through the covered

passageway in order to ignite the

Olympic Fire with the aid of the

hot noonday sun. A magnifying

glass mounted upon an iron stand

caught the rays of the sun which

stood high above the Alpheios

Valley and concentrated them upon

inflammable material, which soon

began to burn. The fire was then

carried by the Greek maidens past

the Temple of Hera to the Fire

Altar in front of the Altis where

the first runnerswere waiting”

(Ibid Off. Rep pg.515)

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Olympic Flame

After messages from Greek

representatives and an

announcement from Baron Pierre de

Coubertin was read to the runner

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Fascinating is the fact that the

attempt has been partly captured

in film under the directions of

Leni Riefenstah which filmed the

documentary >>Olympia<<.

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"Sporting and chivalrous

competition awakens the best

human qualities. It does not

sever, but on the contrary,

unites the opponents in

mutual understanding and

reciprocal respect. It also

helps to strengthen the

bonds of peace between the

nations. May the Olympic

Flame therefore never be

extinguished."

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We shall finish this article with

the prophetic words of George

Orwell "He who controls the

present controls the Past, he who

controls the past controls the

Future"

Miscellaneous

"

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Issue: Apr, 1939 Source:blog.modernmechanix.com

Miscellaneous

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Cops get a dome light

Japanese motorcycle cops are being

outfitted with these new helmets,

which have a flashing light on top.

Police can use the light to flag

down drivers or to control traffic

on heavily traveled city streets.

Popular Science

Issue: Nov, 1968

Source:blog.modernmechanix.com

Story of the Lamp

Next to its usefulness for heating

and cooking, the greatest use of

fire is to furnish light in order

to drive darkness away . Man is

not content, unlike birds and

brutes, to go to sleep at the

setting of the sun. He takes part

of the night-time and uses it for

work, for travel, for social

pleasures, or for the improvement

of his mind, adding in this way

several years to his life. He

could not do this if he was

compelled to grope in darkness.

Therefore when the great source of

daylight disappears he must make

light for himself, for the sources

of nightlight, the moon and the

stars and lightning and the aurora

borealis and are not sufficient

enough to satisfy his needs. Here

we shall follow man in his efforts

to conquer darkness, and we shall

tell the story of the lamp.

We will begin this story with an

odd but interesting kind of lamp.

The firefly or lightning-bug which

is seen so often in the summer

nights was in the earliest time

brought into the service of

mankind in order to shed its

light. Fireflies were imprisoned

in a rude box i.e. in the shell of

a coconut, or a gourd thus the

light of the insect's bodies was

allowed to shoot out through the

numerous holes made in the box. We

must not despise the light given

out by these tiny creatures. " In

the mountains of Tijuca," once

said a traveler, " I have read the

finest print by the light of one

of these natural lamps, fireflies

placed under a common glass

tumbler , and with distinctness I

could tell the hour of the night

and discern the very small figures

which marked the seconds of a

little Swiss watch."

FIG. I. A FIREFLY LAMP.

Although fireflies have been used

here and there by primitive folk,

they could hardly have been the

first lamp. Man's battle with

darkness really began with the

torch, lighted from the fire of

the cave or the wigwam, which was

kept burning for the purposes of

illumination. Hence a burning

stick was the first lamp.

The first improvement in the

torch was made when slivers or

splinters of resinous or oily

wood were tied together and

burned. This may well be regarded

as a lamp which was all wick. An

invention which in its turn

resulted to a fuller and clearer

light, one that would burn much

longer than the single stick.

Further improvement would come

when a long piece of wax or fatty

substance was wrapped about with

leaves. This was something like a

candle, only the wick which were

the leaves was on the outside,

whereas the oily substance which

fed the wick would lie in the

center.

A Short Story on the History of Artificial light

circa 1911 with a special interest in the last two paragraphs.

54

Story of the Lamp

FIG. 2. A BURNING STICK WAS THE

FIRST LAMP.

In the course of time it was

discovered that it was better to

smear the grease on the outside of

the stick, or whatever was to be

burned. Realizing that it was

better to have the wick on the

inside. Torches were then made of

rope coated with resin or fat, or

of sticks or splinters smeared

with grease; here the stick

resembling to the wick of the

candle as we know it today, the

coating of fat corresponding to

the tallow or paraffin. Rude

candles made of oiled rope or of

sticks smeared with fat were

invented in primitive times, and

they continued to be used for

thousands of years after. In the

dark ages, dark in more senses

than one torch-makers began to

wrap the central stick first with

flax or hemp and then place around

this a thick layer of fat.

Resulting to a torch that gave out

a very good light.

It was about the time of Alfred

the Great (900 A.c.) when another

step was taken: the central stick

was left out altogether, and the

thick layer of fat or wax was

placed directly around the wick

of twisted cotton. The stick of

wood of the original torch was

gone. The candles of today are

made of better material than

those of the olden time, moreover

they are much cheaper as well.

Yet in principle they do not

differ from the candles of a

thousand years ago. The torch

had developed into the candle .

FIG. 3. THE CANDLE.

The development of the candle has

been given first because its

forerunner, the torch, was first

"apparel" used for lighting. It

must not be forgotten though that

along with the torch there was

used, almost from the beginning,

another kind of lamp. Almost as

soon as men discovered that the

melted fat of animals would burn

easily that being certainly very

long ago they invented a rude

form of lamp from which the lamp

of today has been evolved.

55

Story of the Lamp

The cavity of a shell (Fig. 4) or

of a stone, or even the skull of

an animal, would be filled with

melted fat or oil, and a wick of

flax or other fibrous material was

laid upon the edge of the vessel.

The oil or grease passed up the

wick by capillary action,( Hold

the end of a dry towel in a basin

of water and watch the water rise

in the towel. It rises by

capillary action.) and when the

end of the wick was lighted it

continued to burn as long as there

were both oil and wick. This can

be considered as the earliest form

of the lamp. As man became more

civilized, instead of a hollow

stones or skulls, an earthen

saucer or bowl was used. Around

the edge of the bowl a spout or

gutter was made for holding the

wick.

In the lamps of the ancient Greeks

and Romans the reservoir which

held the oil was closed, leaving

a hole in the center through which

the oil might be poured. Sometimes

it was possible that these lamps

would have several spouts or

nozzles. Of course the more wicks

a lamp had, the more light it

would give. There is in the museum

at Cortona, in Italy, an ancient

lamp which has sixteen nozzles.

This interesting relic (Fig. 5)was

used in a pagan temple in Etruria

and dates back to more than twenty-

five hundred years ago.

FIG. 4. A SHELL FILLED WITH OIL

AND USED AS A LAMP.

FIG. 5. AN ETRUSCAN LAMP 25OO

YEARS OLD.

Lamps such as which have been

described above, were used among

the civilized people of the

ancient world and continued to be

used throughout the Middle Ages

far into Modern times. They were

equally very costly as well as

beautiful (Fig. 6), but they

never gave out a good light. Only

to add the unpleasant odor, they

sent out, as well as the fact

that they were so smoky they

covered the walls and furniture

with soot. The candle was in

every way better than the ancient

lamp, and after the invention of

wax tapers candles in the

thirteenth century, lamps were no

longer used by those who could

afford to buy tapers. For

ordinary purposes and ordinary

people, however, the lamp

continued to provide its service,

but it was utterly not Improved.

56

Story of the Lamp

FIG. 6. AN ANCIENT LAMP.

Far-reaching the end of the

eighteenth century, the lamp was

still the unsatisfactory,

disagreeable thing it had always

been. Late in the eighteenth

century improvement came. In 1783

Aimé Argand, a Swiss physician

residing in London, designed a

lamp that was far better than any

that had ever been made before.

What did Argand do for the lamp?

Examining an ordinary lamp in

which coal-oil is burned. The

chimney protects the flame from

sudden gusts of wind and also

creating a draft of air, (Lighting

a short piece of candle and

placing it into a tumbler, if one

covers the top of the tumbler the

flame will die off teaching us

that a flame must have a constant

supply of fresh air in order not

to go out .) This is the case for

the fire-chimney as well creating

a draft. Argand's lamp (Fig. 7)

was the first to have a chimney.

Looking below the chimney one will

see open passages through which

fresh air may pass upward finding

its way to the wick. Further

notice will show that as this

draft of air passes upward it is

so directed that, when the lamp is

burning, an extra quantity of air

plays directly upon the wick.

In other words before Argand, the

wick received no supply of air.

Noticing the wick of modern

lamps which is flat or circular,

but thin. The air in abundance

played upon both sides of the

thin wick, burning it without

making smoke. (Smoke is simply

halfburned particles of a burning

substance. The particles pass off

half-burned because enough air

has not been supplied.) Now

Argand, by making the wick thin

and by causing plenty of air to

rush into the flame, enabled all

the wick to be burned thereby

resulting to the introduction of

a strong white flame.

FIG. 7. AN ARGAND LAMP.

57

Story of the Lamp

After the invention of Argand, the

art of lampmaking was improved by

leaps and by bounds. More progress

was made in twenty years after

1783 than had been made in twenty

centuries before. New burners were

invented, new and better oils were

used, and better wicks made. But

all the new kinds of lamps were

patterned after the Argand. The

lamp you use at home may not be a

real Argand, but it is doubtless

made according to the principles

of the lamp invented by the Swiss

physician in 1783.

Soon after Argand invented his

lamp, William Murdock, a Scottish

inventor, was destined to show the

world a new way of lighting. It

had long been known that fat or

coal, when heated, gave off a

vapor or gas which when burned

gave off a bright light. Indeed,

it is always the gas that burns,

and not the substance. In the

candle or in the lamp the flame

heats the oil which comes up to it

through the wick and thus causes

the oil to give off a gas. It is

this gas that burns and gives off

the light. Now Murdock, in 1797,

put this principle to a new good

use. He heated coal in a large

vessel, and allowed the gas which

was driven off to pass through

mains and tubes to different parts

of his house. Wherever he wanted a

light he let the gas escape at the

end of the tube (Fig. 8) in a

small jet and lighted it. Here was

a lamp without a wick. Murdock

soon extended his gas-pipes to

factories, and lighted them up

with gas. As soon as it was

learned how to make gas cheaply,

and conduct it safely from house

to house, whole cities were

"rescued" from darkness by the new

illuminant.

A considerable part of London was

lighted by gas in 1815 and

Baltimore was the first city in

the United States to be lighted

by gas in 1821.

FIR. 8. THE GAS JET

The gas-light proved to be much

better than even before. In towns

and cities almost everybody who

could afford to do so laid aside

the old wick-lamp and burned gas.

Innovation came once again at

about 1876 and a new ; kind of

light began to appear. This was

the electric light. The powerful

arc light (Fig. 9), made by the

passage of a current of

electricity between two carbon

points, was the first to be

invented. This gave as much light

as a hundred gas-jets or several

hundred lamps. Such a light was

excellent for lighting streets,

but its painful glare and its

sputtering rendered it unfit for

use within doors. It was not

long, however, before an electric

light was invented which could be

used anywhere. This was the

famous Edison's incandescent or

glow lamp (Fig. 10) , which we

see on every hand. Edison's

invention is only a few years

old, yet there are already more

than thirty million incandescent

lamps in use in the United States

alone.

58

Story of the Lamp

FIG. 9- AN EARLY ARC LIGHT

The torch, the candle, the lamp,

the gas-light, the electric light,

these are the steps of the

development of the lamp. And how

marvelous a growth it is! How

great the triumph over darkness!

In the beginning a piece of wood

burns with a dull flame, and fills

the dingy wigwam or cave with soot

and smoke; now, at the pressure of

a button, the house is filled with

a light that rivals the light of

day, with not a particle of smoke

or soot or harmful gas. Are there

to be further triumphs in the art

of lighting? Are we to have a

light that shall drive out the

electric light ? Only time can

tell.

FIG. IO. AN INCANDESCENT ELECTRIC

LIGHT.

The story of the Lamp was derived

from the book "Stories of Useful

Inventions" by S.E.Forman N.Y .C. -

1911 adding a few interventions

from the bombilla team.

59

No 14

The Konsumstuhl Nr 14, also known

as the “Viennese coffee shop chair

no.14” or “bistro chair” is

considered to be “the chair of

chairs” and has allegedly sold

more than 50 million copies,

becoming one of the best selling

chairs of all times. Moreover

being the first mass produced

chair in the World, it is also

regarded to be one of the most if

not -the- most successful

industrial product(s) in the

world. The No 14 was created as

early as 1859 and won the golden

metal at the 1867 Paris World's

Fair.

Thonet's straight forward ambition

according to the Herald Tribune's

article “The chair that seated

millions” was to create the first

mass manufactured chair in the

world, which was to be sold at an

affordable price (three florins

slightly less than a bottle of

wine). Minimal in its design and

its use of material Thonet

succeeded in anticipating classic

modernism more than 50 years prior

to Mies Van de Roche's famous

“less is more”. Incorporating a

new philosophy of furniture design

Thonet revolutionized the

furniture world and industry of

his time and led the

transformation of homes, cafes and

restaurants, as well as school and

office furnishing to appeared

somewhat “lighter” and less

extravagant than it had been

before. For these matters Master

Cabinet maker Micheal Thonet (1796-

1871) is regarded as a pioneer of

furniture and industrial

design the same. After almost 20

years of experimentation

Thonet's conviction that bent

beech-wood was the future of

chair making was proved correct.

Bentwood process involved the use

of steam to make wood soft and

pliable so that it could be bent

into any desired shape.

Although as Giovanni Renzi, and

Gebruder Thonet say in the book

“The history, development and

copies of the bestselling chair

in the world” Thonet's original

idea was not to create a “mass-

consumption chair” (at least

until the time of the great

exposition 1851), and that

Micheal Thonets working

techniques were the same as those

of any other cabinetmaker of the

Biedermaier period. But it was

the technological language that

he used that set him apart from

all others thus pursuing the

“mass consumption chair”.

Thonet following a carpenter's

apprenticeship, set himself up as

an independent cabinetmaker in

1819. His first major

breakthrough as a young cabinet

maker was the "Boppard layerwood

chair" for the construction of

which he had developed his

special bentwood methods.His

failure in attending a pattern in

Germany as well as his business

bankruptcy led him to accept an

invitation of Prince Klemens

Wenzel von Metternich when they

met at the Craft show in Koblenz

at the trade fair of 1841, the

prince who was enthusiastic about

Thonet's furniture had intentions

No 14 150 turned years Old

“Never was a better and more elegant design and more precisely crafted

and practical item created”

Le Corbusier

No 14

of promoting Austria's

industrialization thus invited

him to the Vienna court.

In the next year, Thonet was able

to present his furniture, and his

chairs in particular, to the

Imperial Family and eventually

accepted to relocated there with

his entire family. There, he

worked with his sons on the

interior decoration of the "Palais

Liechtenstein" for the Carl

Leistler establishment before he

reopened his buisness.

On July 1842 he was awarded the

privilege of "bending any wood,

even the driest type, into any

shape using a chemical-mechanical

process".Making him the only firm

in the Austro-Hungarian Empire

that could legally produce

bentwood furniture Thonet and his

sons would developed production

technique machines and process

that would allow them to build

bentwood furniture in large

quantities. The unique technology

of wood bending heated by steam as

well as the the idea of designing

separate pieces which would be

combined make the final models

enabled him to produce large

numbers of furniture in relative

short time. Therefore Thonet made

the transition from craft workshop

to industrial factory production.

Six pieces of steam-bent wood, ten

screws,two nuts are the parts

needed to assembly the No 14

chair. The No 14 chair was easily

dismantled and assembled anywhere

therefore it was eligible for

easier shippment. The key features

that characterize the No 14 chair

was its cheapness in

production,its functionality and

high aesthetic as well as its

practicality in transportation.

Later on Thonet would continue

its ground breaking innovations

and go on to cooperate only with

the biggest innovators of the

20th century namely Walter

Gropius, Mart Stam, Marchel

Breuer and Mies Van de Roche

leading to a new series of steel

tube furniture. But that's

another story...

This year celebrating the 150th

anniversary of the no 14 chain

(today known as the 214 chair)

the “Muji by Thonet” chair is

being launched.

Pic 1. The thonet chair six pieces of

steam-bent wood, ten screws and two

Pic 2 Muji by Thonet

art

Discover Drooker

62

music

Chumbawamba

History Luddite

Track listing :

01 Rock And Roles

02 Multinationals

03 Work

04 This Wood

05 Tearing Up Zoo

06 Liberation

07 Rape

08 Marching Around in Circles

(Part 1)

09 Telly

10 Body

11 Marching Around in Circles

(Part 2)

63

music

Track Listing:

01. "The Cutty Wren"

02. "The Diggers Song"

03. "Colliers March"

04. "The Triumph of General Ludd"

05. "Chartist Anthem"

06. "The Bad Squire"

07. "Song on the Times"

08. "Smashing of the Van"

09. "The World Turned Upside Down"

10. "Poverty Knock"

11. "Idris Strike Song"

12. "Hanging on the Old Barbed Wire"

13. "Coal Not Dole"

Chumbawamba

English Rebel Songs 1381-1984

64

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