Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "John Kay (flying shuttle)" in English language version.
This son was known in later life in Bury as "Frenchman Kay," and the portrait supposed to be that of the inventor is really his.As well as the identification of the sitter given by John Ainsworth, the "French" clothing and tricorne were characteristic of "Frenchman" John Kay in 1790s Bury (where he was considered a "fop" -see Lord (1903) pages 91–92).
He profited very little by his invention, and is said to have died in a foreign land, in poverty and obscurity.
he gave to the weaver's shuttle a mechanical impulse entirely displacing the shuttle which up to that time had been thrown backwards across the loom by two operatives. This old shuttle was practically the same as that mentioned in the Book of Job(However, the Bury town meeting called to honour John Kay in 1903 noted that the biblical shuttle was still in use at that time in India, where two people often still worked a single loom —though mill production was flourishing there.)
Kay was equally determined to enforce his rights, and nearly ruined himself in Chancery suits, although they were decided in his favour.
[He] was obliged to leave his native country having spent large sums in lawsuits in defending his Patent against a combination of weavers who had an intention to murder him
This son was known in later life in Bury as "Frenchman Kay," and the portrait supposed to be that of the inventor is really his.As well as the identification of the sitter given by John Ainsworth, the "French" clothing and tricorne were characteristic of "Frenchman" John Kay in 1790s Bury (where he was considered a "fop" -see Lord (1903) pages 91–92).
In the year 1733 John Kay obtained a Patent (No. 542) for the fly shuttle, and in the year 1760 his son Robert Kay invented the drop box [...] In the year 1745, John Kay and Joseph Stell obtained a Patent (No. 612) for a loom for weaving tapes and other goods in narrow breadths
Trudaine had plans for introducing foreign workmen from every country which excelled in the cotton manufacture
The life of John Kay is sketchy and frequently confusing.
Inscription on bronze panel beneath an oval portrait medallion of Kay:... TO PERPETUATE THE NAME AND FAME OF JOHN KAY OF BURY. WHOSE INVENTION IN THE YEAR 1733 OF THE FLY SHUTTLE QUADRUPLED HUMAN POWER IN WEAVING & PLACED ENGLAND IN THE FRONT RANK AS THE BEST MARKET IN THE WORLD FOR TEXTILE MANUFACTURERS. HE WAS BORN IN BURY IN 1704, AND DIED IN EXILE AND POVERTY IN FRANCE, WHERE HE LIES IN AN UNKNOWN GRAVE(Many more images and details of the memorial are available at johncassidy.org.)
technological progress is equally dependent on skills of invention and the management of invention(John Kay's essay on the two John Kays of the Industrial Revolution).
Between 1737 and 1743 the partners brought several actions against weavers for infringement of the patent. It is probable that none of them were ever decided. Chancery proceedings were proverbially long drawn out, but in some of the earlier actions Kay's legal rights seem to have been doubtful.
The life of John Kay is sketchy and frequently confusing.
he gave to the weaver's shuttle a mechanical impulse entirely displacing the shuttle which up to that time had been thrown backwards across the loom by two operatives. This old shuttle was practically the same as that mentioned in the Book of Job(However, the Bury town meeting called to honour John Kay in 1903 noted that the biblical shuttle was still in use at that time in India, where two people often still worked a single loom —though mill production was flourishing there.)
Looms are varied in details.... As previously stated, Robert Kay invented drop boxes in 1760, but they were not successfully applied to the power loom until 1845
b. 16 July 1704 d. 1779 France... He was still involved with developing textile machines in 1779, when he was 75, but he must have died soon afterwards. As an inventor Kay was a genius of the first rank, but he was vain, obstinate and suspicious and was destitute of business qualities.
As one of the principal centres for the manufacture of bays, which were largely made on the broad loom, it [Colchester] offered as good an opportunity as could be found in any place for discovering a partner with capital to take up the invention... Kay and Smith each took two shares and Abbott one of the five into which the patent was divided.
He married in 1725, Anne, the daughter of John Holte, probably a near neighbour, and set up housekeeping at Park.
In the year 1733 John Kay obtained a Patent (No. 542) for the fly shuttle, and in the year 1760 his son Robert Kay invented the drop box [...] In the year 1745, John Kay and Joseph Stell obtained a Patent (No. 612) for a loom for weaving tapes and other goods in narrow breadths
He profited very little by his invention, and is said to have died in a foreign land, in poverty and obscurity.
John Kay and his son Robert may justly be considered the originators of modern weaving process.
he gave to the weaver's shuttle a mechanical impulse entirely displacing the shuttle which up to that time had been thrown backwards across the loom by two operatives. This old shuttle was practically the same as that mentioned in the Book of Job(However, the Bury town meeting called to honour John Kay in 1903 noted that the biblical shuttle was still in use at that time in India, where two people often still worked a single loom —though mill production was flourishing there.)
the natural balance between spinning and weaving was so much disturbed. John Kay, of Bury, had just invented the fly-shuttle, which enabled the weaver to get through as much work again as before; and he had been mobbed and nearly killed for his pains. He escaped, wrapped up in a sheet of cotton wool, and was thus carried bodily through the mob
