1st Edition
Making Scientific Instruments in the Industrial Revolution
By A.D. Morrison-Low
Copyright 2007
424 Pages
by
Routledge
424 Pages
by
Routledge
424 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
At the start of the Industrial Revolution, it appeared that most scientific instruments were made and sold in London, but by the time of the Great Exhibition in 1851, a number of provincial firms had the self-confidence to exhibit their products in London to an international audience. How had this change come about, and why? This book looks at the four main, and two lesser, English centres known... Read more
Contents: Foreword; Introduction; Making scientific instruments in the Industrial Revolution; Bristol and Liverpool; York and Sheffield; Manchester and Birmingham; Smaller centres and individuals; The London trade; Industrial organisation and production of the provincial trade; Supply; Demand; Conclusions; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.
Biography
A.D. Morrison-Low is Principal Curator in the Science Section, National Museums of Scotland, UK.
Winner of the Paul Bunge Prize, 2008, honouring outstanding publications on the history of scientific instruments. ’In all, this is a very useful book and, although it will ultimately go into the TATHS library, I won't let it go just yet. I want to re-read it several times more to make sure that I fully appreciate it.’ Journal of the Tools and Trades History Society ’... this erudite yet engaging monograph... Morrison-Low's work has important implications for all students of the industrial revolution... Morrison-Low is to be congratulated for elucidating the broader significance of this small but crucial industry.’ EH.NET ’A.D. Morrison-Low has provided an outstanding integrative history of instrument making that many of us perhaps secretly aspire to but seldom attain. This is a substantial achievement and raises her work far above the caliber and importance of most other writings on the history of scientific instruments and their manufacture... It would be remiss to conclude this review without mention of the useful appendix and the superb bibliography that grace this outstanding work.’ History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences ’Making Scientific Instruments in the Industrial Revolution is a welcome and timely book... If you are looking for an empirical survey of instrument making, delightfully illustrated, roughly spanning the period 1750 to the Great Exhibition in London of 1851, this is a book for you.’ Technology and Culture ’...Morrison-Low has assembled an impressive array of sources - directories, business records (the few that remain), probate and insurance records, first-hand accounts, among many others - with much of the data usefully illustrated and summarized in the many graphs and charts. The evidence from these sources is brought together very effectively through a self-consciously cross-disciplinary approach that will make this book a model for future studies. ... Commendable for its excellent survey of existing literature
