1st Edition

J.C. Fischer and his Diary of Industrial England 1814-51

By W.O. Henderson Copyright 1966
    216 Pages
    by Routledge

    216 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book was first published in 1966. It was surprising that so small and so remote a country as Switzerland should have played such an important part in the industrial revolution on the Continent in the nineteenth century. A lack of natural resources and basic raw materials and population of 1,687,000 in 1817, faraway trade ports, and until 1848 no real central government with the administrative structure to support expansion of manufacturers. However, the people were hardworking, thrifty and high standards of workmanship; and had good relations with France and Germany, which saw the watchmakers, silkweavers and chocolate crafters start to thrive. Johann Conrad Fischer was typical of the entrepreneurs who laid the foundations of Switzerland's prosperity with his steelworks.

    Introduction: Industrial Switzerland

    1. Fischer's Industrial Career

    i. The craftsmen

    ii. The inventor

    iii. The entrepreneur

    iv. The diarist

    2. J.C. Fischer's Visits to London

    i. Metalworkers and Engineers

    ii. Public institutions

    iii. The great exhibition

    3. Fischer in the Manufacturing districts

    Introduction

    i. The textile manufacturers

    ii. A visit to Etruria

    iii. The Manchester engineers

    iv. The steelmakers and cutlers of Sheffield

    v. The ironmasters and engineers of the midlands

    vi. A visit to Liverpool

    4. The rise of the Firm of Georg Fischer

    i. Georg Fischer II and his fittings

    ii. Georg Fischer II: steel castings and electric furnaces

     

    Biography

    W.O. Henderson