Sir Titus Salt's Daybook.

Notebook in the hand of Sir Titus Salt, containing entries dated 1834-1837. It appears to contain personal notes of special transactions and experiments. These include a page headed '27 June 1835. 1 bag Peruvian wool' (i.e. alpaca), and another headed 'October 1836. 2 packs of Alpaca'; the latter entry gives a breakdown of the costs of combing.

Titus Salt was born in Morley near Leeds on 20 September, 1803. He joined the family firm of woolstaplers in 1824 and became the firm's wool buyer. Daniel Salt & Son prospered and became one of the most important textile companies in Bradford. When Daniel Salt retired in 1833, Titus took over the running of the company. Over the next twenty years Titus Salt became the largest employer in Bradford.
In 1834 he saw some "Peruvian wool" (alpaca) in Liverpool and became interested in its use. The hair of the alpaca, a relative of the llama, had been used for weaving as a warp or with a worsted warp but the resultant cloth had little to recommend it. Titus Salt and his assistants spent over a year working on the problems involved in spinning alpaca, then pioneered the use of alpaca weft with cotton or silk warps ; this produced a durable lightweight fabric with a sheen.
Moving his business out of Bradford, in 1853 he established the new Salt's Mill, the centre for the model industrial village of Saltaire. Salt was elected to Parliament in 1859 and was created a baronet in 1869. He died on 29th December, 1876.

Available to researchers, by appointment. Access to archive material is subject to preservation requirements and must also conform to the restrictions of the Data Protection Act and any other appropriate legislation. There are currently no restrictions on access to this material.

Presented by Dr. Iredale to the Archaeological Sciences Librarian (Mr. K.B. Tidswell) for the Bradford University Library.

Described by John Brooker using ISAD(G) 2, September 2003; minor edits by Alison Cullingford, May 2013.

Copies may be supplied or produced at the discretion of Special Collections staff, subject to copyright law and the condition of the originals. Applications for permission to make published use of any material should be directed to the Special Collections Librarian in the first instance.
We believe this daybook is unpublished, and it therefore remains in copyright.
The Library will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Obtained by Dr. J. Iredale, a lecturer at Bradford University.

The Great Paternalist: Titus Salt and the growth of nineteenth century Bradford by J. Reynolds (Hounslow : M. Temple Smith in association with the University of Bradford, 1983).