So I asked them all in a conversation and WOW, did I get a bunch of information... except part of it was that maybe I didn't have a Structo at all, and maybe it just had a Structo label on it. I'm sure I stated the wrong dates as I was recounting seeing an old sales receipt for the sale of this Structo to the first president of the San Antonio Handweavers Guild back in the very early days....I was told that...I guess it's okay to write her name, Nancy DePew, was a dedicated weaver and valued the history old textiles and learning how to produce quality new textiles. She was also devoted to the Witte Museum, and, I was told, she made Mary Meigs Attwater (please forgive the spelling) sit out on the porch to smoke because there 'shouldn't be any smoke in a museum'. This old loom is steeped in Texas history and, once I cannot weave on it any longer, I hope it goes back to Texas to continue living and working, long after I'm gone from this weaving realm....
I must admit I was quite unhappy at that thought that maybe it wasn't a Structo at all, because there's been so much history with this loom and it's the strongest connection I now have with my beloved mentor from way back in the Southwest Craft Center days....and I just would have been very sad if it had turned out not to be a Structo.
I had no idea how rare these looms are...nooooooo idea at all. But, on Weavolution, I learned from one of those knowledgeable fellow Structo members, about a lady who is an expert in old looms and has quite a huge library to do research. I wrote to her and she says it really IS a Structo Artcraft Loom, it is VERY rare and boy am I HAPPY! I will ask her permission to put her name on my blog because she is an incredibly important resource for all weavers and all looms EVERYWHERE and, if allowed, I want everyone to know about her and the important service that she provides!
Here's another view that I've never posted, and I'll put another one up here below. There room for TWO sectional back beams on the Old Structo, but I never felt the need. Also, it used to have little pegs in the holes which made it a sectional, but, after years of rolling on miles of warp, I decided to remove them (they were part of my months of refurbishing and were not antique). Now I use the simple old paper method, it's a little strange with such a huge warp beam (which is one yard around), but it's so much easier and more efficient to wind on....I put on 40 to 50 yards at a time on there at a time which doesn't even begin to make it look loaded!
I don't know what the tie-ups were made of originally, but I chose to create a chain system that is detachable from the center, permanently attached to each lamm and to four places along the treadle and is adjustable....it works for me!
Yes, those are pieces of carpet on the bottom of it's feet....The Old Structo has "stockings" on it's feet to avoid contact with the concrete floors of my studio....now is that love or WHAT?!?! Well, I'd better get this thing posted and go start setting up for a Studio Tour that's taking place in my Village Saturday and Sunday. I am sending out happy holiday cheer, hope for the future and most of all....Miles and Miles of Smiles, Cat B.
