In a message dated 30/09/2002 12:05:24 GMT Daylight Time, jnrose@webtv.net writes: > What are hand-cards and card-clothing? > Dear Jan, I hope that I won't make too many mistakes in my attempt at answering your question! My wife is related to the DENNYs (she is a descendant of the English branch of the family) and I was privileged to be in the Leicester area last October. Thanks to the kindness of a friend (on this list!) I was able to see both hand cards and 'card clothing' - the latter a term that had me totally confused at first! Hand Cards are pieces of flat wood board about 9 inches by 6 inches with a wooden handle attached. On one side of the board is tacked a similar sized piece of leather in which are impaled masses of tiny wire spikes or claws. I believe that these were used to draw out or 'card' wool and cotton staple or threads. In England I have also seen the same used to 'fluff up' and clean the wool of live sheep for showing purposes at such as County Shows (Fairs), but this may be irrelevant to Massachusetts. There are some examples of hand cards in the Museum that is above the Leicester Public Library. 'Card Clothing' seems to have been the generic term for large lengths (sold at so much a foot) of the same type of leather impaled with tiny wire spikes or claws that were used on machines for drawing out wool and cotton staple or threads. I saw such a machine at Old Sturbridge Village. It seems that several families made fortunes from manufacturing hand cards and card clothing and that Leicester was an important centre of such manufacturing. Yours, etc. Geoffrey Woollard in Cambridgeshire, England.