The Scotch Holland Roller Shades originated in the early 1700s. They were made from Holland linen, which came from the Netherlands. The fabric was first produced in Glasgow, Scotland, by James Louis Robertson and John King, hence the name Scotch Holland. 
The first roller shade made from Scotch Holland linen did not have a spring mechanism. Instead, when the blind was closed, the fabric lay in folds on the windowsill. To open the blind, you had to pull on a cord, which was attached to a top rod. To secure the open blind, you wound the cord around a cleat.
In 1864, Stewart Hartshorn patented the first spring roller design using a ratchet and gravity pawl. This spring roller window shade was the forerunner of today’s roller shades as it used a spring mechanism to allow fabric to be rolled up or down. The spring roller window shade became very popular in America and several other production plants were opened in the early twentieth century. Below is a drawing of the spring roller and to the right is the crank Star Shade Cutting Machine from the 1920’s.
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