Squirrel Cage Yarn Winder

Q I bought a wooden piece from an antiques dealer in Nebraska in the 1970s. He told me a ”picker” from the northeast brought it here. It is 59 inches tall and 26 inches wide. It has straight sides and I was told it has ”shoe feet.” The center vertical piece of wood slides up and down and the circular ”cage” pieces turn. A furniture repair person told me it is ”museum worthy.” I thought it might be for weaving and I tried contacting a tapestry museum to ask about it but didn’t get an answer or interest. Do you have any suggestions or a value?

A You have a ”squirrel cage” yarn winder, also called a squirrel cage swift. It is used to smoothly and quickly wind a skein of yarn onto a weaving bobbin or a ball winder. The skein is placed around the two drums that rotate as the skein unwinds. The shoe feet on your winder add stability as the drums turn. Squirrel cage swifts made in the 18th and 19th centuries start at about $150 at auction. Those made by craftsmen of the Shaker community sell for $700 to $950.