Four men demonstrating a ramie machine for making fiber, ca.1925

Photograph of four men demonstrating a ramie machine for making fiber, ca.1925. Two men, holding bundles of ramie stalks, supply the machine feeder with a constant supply of ramie stalks. The feeder holds the stalks steady as it goes through the machine. Another man at the other end pulls the processed fiber as the fiber gets ejected from the machine. The machine consists of a table (where the feeder feeds it), stamping mill, wheels, and sprockets. Belts, attached to a motor, run the sprockets on the machine to turn its many operational parts. A frieze on the wall (at left) shows babies heads looking in different directions.