From 1841 to 1844, the Auburn Prison in New York State, now the Auburn Correctional Facility, was the location of an early experiment in the manufacture of sewing silk, a type of thread used in garment production. Incarcerated men worked in throwing mills to transform cocoons into sewing silk; they reeled, combed, and dyed silk filaments, added twist, and wound the thread onto bobbins. The Auburn Prison agent solicited cocoons from silk farmers and thereby supported an incipient local sericulture cottage industry. By 1843 the prison had become the leading buyer of raw silk cocoons in the United States. In this report, we chronicle the rise and fall of silk production in the Auburn Prison within the context of the Auburn Prison System, also known as the “Congregate System,” and a larger “silk mania” across the northeastern United States in the second quarter of the nineteenth century.

从 1841 年到 1844 年，纽约州的奥本监狱（现为奥本惩教所）是制造缝纫丝（一种用于服装生产的线）的早期实验地点。被监禁的人在投掷厂工作，将茧变成缝纫丝绸；他们将丝线卷起、梳理和染色，加捻，然后将线缠绕到线轴上。奥本监狱的代理人向蚕农索取茧，从而支持了当地新兴的蚕桑家庭手工业。到 1843 年，监狱已成为美国生丝茧的主要买家。在本报告中，我们在奥本监狱系统（也称为“聚集系统”）的背景下记录了奥本监狱丝绸生产的兴衰。