La presse cylindrique pour tissus

Manufactured by: Ateliers Raxhon, Theux, in the 1950sOrigin: Les Apprêts Deforges, DisonVerviers Museum Collection: No. A101The aim of pressing is threefold: to flatten, tighten and smooth the fabric. This machine, which appeared in 1847, followed on from the screw press, which pressed the cloth folded over on itself under the action of a pressing plate. After a passage between two brushes to clean and even the quilt, the flattened fabric is placed in a concave basin where it is pressed by a cylinder as it is steam-heated. The cylinder turns slowly and causes the coating on the face of the fabric to rub against the basin.