A short encyclopedia entry on damask from an 1859 commercial cyclopedia. It defines damask as a figured silk, wool, linen or cotton fabric, traces the name to Damascus, and notes production centers in Flanders, Dunfermline, Lisburn and Ardoyne. It also discusses the Irish linen damask industry, hand-loom versus power-loom and Jacquard weaving, and the design of table linens, and ends with a note on damask steel.

A short encyclopedia passage describing the Jacquard mechanism, invented by Jacquart of Lyons for silk or muslin looms to replace draw-boys in weaving figured goods. It explains how the device groups the warp threads that rise together to form the figure and is operated by a pedal. It also notes that it came into general use soon after its invention in 1800 and gives its cost in France and the United States.

An encyclopedia article on lace from an 1859 commercial cyclopedia. It covers the history and origins of lace, pillow (bobbin) lace technique, Honiton, Brussels, Mechlin, Valenciennes and other named laces, and the lace industries of England, France and Belgium. It also describes machine lace (bobbin-net and warp machines, Jacquard attachment), the making of gold and silver lace thread, and closes with 1856 US lace export and import statistics tables.