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This comb was used for carding wool. Carding is the process of preparing wool for spinning by combing out and disentangling all the fibres into the same direction to form 'slivers'. This carding comb was purchased in North London, but nothing is known of its origin. It is thought possible that it came from East Anglia, however.

1 wool-carding comb: wood (beech); metal (steel); good condition

MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘… // DATE ACQUIRED: // GROUP: // NEGATIVE: // PERIOD: // PLACE OF ORIGIN: // NUMBER: // DESCRIPTION: …‘ ... When wool manufacture was primarily a cottage industry, hand carding was usually done in an outhouse and the wool was carried to the cottage and stored in boxes ready to supply the needs of the spinner as they arose. // ... Much of the Mediaeval prosperity of East Anglia was based on the woollen trade, although that industry has long disappeared... //, MERL miscellaneous note - This wool carding comb was purchased in North London, but nothing is known of its origin, though it probably came from East Anglia, being acquired by a dealer at Braintree, Essex. Much of the mediaeval prosperity of East Anglia was based on the woollen trade, although that industry has long disappeared.

Wood, beech, Metal, steel