Joseph Marie Jacquard

“Jacquard was a man who was most at home among workmen. He was always happiest in their company, and to know him as he really was one had to see him in his ordinary clothes in a weaver's studio, giving the weavers instruction on how to make best use of his loom.”

“We may say most aptly that the Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”

“The portrait of Jacquard was, in fact, a sheet of woven silk, framed and glazed, but looking so perfectly like an engraving, that it has been mistaken for such by two members of the Royal Academy.”

“The machine that I created is simple, costs virtually nothing to maintain, and only requires being kept clean, protected from rust and dust. … This is not all: the fabric is created with speed and perfection, the designs go with the warp of the thread, and the outlines are imperceptible and blended, like in painting.”