3-053-633 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Shah at Manchester: inspecting a piece of calico printed with Persian words of welcome, 1873. 'his Majesty...set out for Salford to see the cotton-mills of Messrs. Haworth and Co...he saw the cotton in all the stages, from the preparation of the raw material up to the weaving. He was led to the room where the enormous flywheel of the engine revolves; but the longest stay was made in the weaving-room, where 1100 frames were at full work. The Shah seemed more interested here than in any other portion, because it is here that the material is converted into the finished article. He stood a few minutes at one of the frames, and saw its working...there were between 800 and 900 workpeople on the premises...with the exception of two or three men to look after the machinery, all the hands in the weaving-room were women and girls, which the Persians seemed scarcely able to understand. Before quitting the factory the Shah saw two finished pieces of cotton branded with an inscription in Persian, and in the same language he wrote in the visitors' book a record of his visit, of which this is a translation: "During my visit to Manchester I have gone through these works with pleasure, and I write my name in this book as a souvenir of my visit".' From "Illustrated London News", 1873.