Carding and Combing (Plate II) 1762

Denis Diderot created this print, "Carding and Combing (Plate II)," as part of his ambitious "Encyclopédie" project during the Enlightenment. Consider the cultural context of the 18th century, where industrialization was beginning to transform labor. This print depicts the meticulous handcraft of textile production. While seemingly objective, the image also reveals a social hierarchy. The labor is anonymous, devoid of individual identity, yet performed by hands adorned with ruffled cuffs, suggesting a gendered and classed performance. Diderot sought to document and celebrate human knowledge and skill. Yet, how do we reconcile this with the realities of labor often performed by marginalized people? The image maintains a distance, aestheticizing labor without fully acknowledging the lived experiences of those who toiled. It invites reflection on whose stories are told, and whose are erased, in the pursuit of progress.