This charming early 19th-century oil painting by German artist Lukas Kirner (1794-1851) depicts the cloth shearer, Johann Georg Finckh (1756-1839) drafting correspondence.The age-old craft of cloth shearing was one component of the flourishing textiles industry in the city of Reutlingen, Germany, during the 19th century. It was a technical endeavour undertaken by specialists that involved a well-versed multi-step process. Firstly, cloth was moistened and ‘roughened’ via the application of ‘hand rougheners’, which exposed the wool fibres. Secondly, it was brought to a frame and brushed to remove any foreign bodies. And finally, it was sheared using large cloth scissors. Over time, with the advent of industrialization, numerous inventions created efficiencies.Finckh successfully navigated the cloth shearing ranks and here, when into his autumn years, he’s at the helm of his own thriving enterprise. Advertisements in the local press refer to apprentices and he probably hired numer...