Finally, the printer put the blocks full of coloring material on the cloth and apply a  blow of mallet. Wood block printing is practiced in plenty of workshops until the middle of 20th century. It remains until 1980.

Room 6 19th Century : Technique and Production

In 1769 Watt and Boulton invented the first steam driven machine. Unfortunately the high accident rate, coupled with heavy pollution slowed down it's progress.

The year 1783 saw the first patent for textile printing machine using engraved copper rollers. Thomas Bell, a Scotsman was it's inventor.
Fourteen years later, the textile manufacturer "Jouy en Josas" put into production the first copper roller textile printing machine in France.
A rival machine, invented by Jean Louis Lefebvre at the beginning of the 19th Century proved to be very successful, and as widely used in Beauvais, the Paris area as well as in Alsace and Germany.