To Preserver and Interpret Dundee's Historic Past

Online Collections Database

Porter Gauge DUNIH 2017.30

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Porter Gauge

Porter Gauge, stainless steel tool used by tenters in the jute industry to test the quality of the material. The inch gauge at the bottom would be placed on the fabric and the strands counted to check it was the correct coarseness. Front face stamp reads 'MB', back face reads 'McGregor and Balfour, Dundee/ Calcutta'. Presented in a white leather sleeve. Belonged to William Hutton Donaldson who spent all his life in the jute industry in the 1930s. He went to India to work for Naddea Jute Mill based near Calcutta until 1939 when he joined the Indian army as a gunner. He returned to Dundee in 1946 and continued in the jute industry until its decline.

Number: DUNIH 2017.30
Name: Porter Gauge
Date: 1930s
Maker: McGregor, & Co.
Location: In Store