Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 May 1886 — Origin of the Needle. [ARTICLE]

Origin of the Needle.

The Talker has been looking up the history of that useful little implement, the needle. It is one of the most ancient tools of which we have any record. The modern needle is a pointed instrument having an eye, and is used for carrying a thread, some kind of fabric, or other material. It is probable, however-, that the needles of those who lived in very ancient times had no eye, as instruments of bone, which were most likely used lor that purpose, as found in the caves which were inhabited by ancient people of France, and the needles of ancient Egypt, which are diescribed as being- of bronze, do not appear to have been made with eyes. Some writers are of the opinion that in place of the eye a circular depression was made in or near the blunt end, in which the thread was buried. Pliny describes the needles of .bronze which were used by the Greeks and Romans. The instruments have also been found in the ruins of Herculaneum. The first account that history gives of the manufacture of needles is that they were made at Nuremburg in 1730; and while the date of the first maufacture in England is in doubt, it is said to have been commenced in that country about 1543 or 1545, and it is asserted that the ait was practiced by a Spanish negro, or native of India, who died without disclosing the secret of his urocess. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth this industry was -revived, and has been continued ever since.