The authors of this conference volume provide new findings about the German and American historic... more The authors of this conference volume provide new findings about the German and American historical experiences with the regulation of natural monopolies, explaining differences as well as similarities in the evolution of both legal systems.
meaning of this technology, redefining how people used and thought about it. She makes creative u... more meaning of this technology, redefining how people used and thought about it. She makes creative use of social history sources—city directories and legal records—to understand the ways that machines were adopted and the ways that their use redefined the meaning of the inventions. Environmental history is the focus of two essays. Michael McMahon's looks at urban technology, Philadelphia's Dock Creek. Robert Gordon examines the environmental and social costs of mining anthracite. Both authors do a good job of analyzing the unintended consequences of technology, placing technological development into a broad context of social and economic decision making. Both suggest the ways in which the natural world lost its battle with new technologies. The two essays that might be of most interest to business historians are the weakest in the volume. Donald C. Jackson considers turnpikes in southeastern Pennsylvania. Patrick W. O'Bannon takes a close look at commercial brewing in Philadelphia. Beer drinking and beer brewing in Philadelphia changed with the introduction of porter in the late 18th century. Porter was an "industrial" product, easy to make but not particularly popular. The interactions of taste and technology shaped the beers brewers made and the ways they made them. Turnpikes, at least as important as beer, were equally the product of new technologies and public demand; but this essay, focused on the Germantown and Perkiomen Turnpike, fails to move far enough beyond the case study to questions of general interest. Most of the essays, though, should be of interest to readers who don't think of themselves as historians of technology. Indeed, that may be the rationale of this collection. The evidence of this volume suggests that the study of early American technology has learned from other aspects of the historiography of that period. History of technology, as presented here, is a key element of any understanding of the history of early America.
Electric power is so ubiquitous and so essential today, and the story of Thomas Edison's deve... more Electric power is so ubiquitous and so essential today, and the story of Thomas Edison's development of an electric lighting system has been told so effectively (most recently by Robert Friedel and Paul Israel in Edison's Electric Light, 1986) that it would be easy to assume that the business of providing electricity was immediately successful, with electric light and power companies earning generous profits and vanquishing the old technologies as soon as the first wire was strung. This decidedly was not the case. In 1912, thirty years after Edison's Pearl Street station had begun operating, less than 20 percent of the households in the United States had electricity, and the steam engine still dominated the factory. By 1932, 85 percent of urban households had electricity, and the electric motor was the major source of power in the factory. The story of the industry is actually one of slow, and far from inevitable, progress, a story that is effectively reinforced in this book.
Over the course of a little less than twenty years, inventor Frank J. Sprague (1857-1934) achieve... more Over the course of a little less than twenty years, inventor Frank J. Sprague (1857-1934) achieved an astonishing series of technological breakthroughs--from pioneering work in self-governing motors to developing the first full-scale operational electric railway system--all while commercializing his inventions and promoting them (and himself as their inventor) to financial backers and the public. In Engineering Invention, Frederick Dalzell tells Sprague's story, setting it against the backdrop of one of the most dynamic periods in the history of technology. In a burst of innovation during these years, Sprague and his contemporaries--Thomas Edison, Nicolas Tesla, Elmer Sperry, George Westinghouse, and others--transformed the technologies of electricity and reshaped modern life. After working briefly for Edison, Sprague started the Sprague Electric Railway and Motor Company; designed and built an electric railroad system for Richmond, Virginia; sold his company to Edison and went into the field of electric elevators; almost accidentally discovered a multiple-control system that could equip electric train systems for mass transit; started a third company to commercialize this; then sold this company to Edison and retired (temporarily). Throughout his career, Dalzell tells us, Sprague framed technology as invention, cast himself as hero, and staged his technologies as dramas. He toiled against the odds, scraped together resources to found companies, bet those companies on technical feats--and pulled it off, multiple times. The idea of the "heroic inventor" is not, of course, the only way to frame the history of technology. Nevertheless, as Dalzell shows, Sprague, Edison, and others crafted the role consciously and actively, using it to generate vital impetus behind the process of innovation.
Neufeld John L., Hausman William J. L’industrie électrique aux Etats-Unis et le développement des... more Neufeld John L., Hausman William J. L’industrie électrique aux Etats-Unis et le développement des sociétés holding au début du XXe siècle. In: Bulletin d'histoire de l'électricité, n°14-15, décembre- juin 1989. p. 238
even some that have a dominating share of their activities there, are not legally Scottish compan... more even some that have a dominating share of their activities there, are not legally Scottish companies. Several times the authors try to deal with this difficulty, but it remains an almost insoluble weakness in trying to formulate any generalizations derived from this, or any similar study. A second methodological difficulty is of wider application. Any approach that counts heads of directors, or anything else for that matter, can so easily assume equality between them, but the influence of different directors varies and even multiple directorships do not necessarily multiply control. The qualification is particularly necessary among the financial institutions, especially the banks, which have long been a major part of Scottish capital and in which, for example, having members of the peerage on the board was probably assumed to give a guarantee of stability as significant as ornate buildings. More important, some who do not appear on the authors' lists of the apparently most influential, determined by multiple directorships or through interlocked companies, were more influential than those who do. It is not statistical analysis that can determine such influence but only more traditional examination of the histories of individual firms and of the decisionmaking process within them, or, to continue the authors' medical analogy, the examination of the physiology as well as the anatomy of Scottish capital. Such criticisms of method do not detract from the work done. The book will be a valuable aid to further study, especially in the mass of information it has made available, but it is not the whole story of Scottish capital, and to start drawing conclusions about the control of industry and the influence of the "propertied class" from it is premature.
The authors of this conference volume provide new findings about the German and American historic... more The authors of this conference volume provide new findings about the German and American historical experiences with the regulation of natural monopolies, explaining differences as well as similarities in the evolution of both legal systems.
meaning of this technology, redefining how people used and thought about it. She makes creative u... more meaning of this technology, redefining how people used and thought about it. She makes creative use of social history sources—city directories and legal records—to understand the ways that machines were adopted and the ways that their use redefined the meaning of the inventions. Environmental history is the focus of two essays. Michael McMahon's looks at urban technology, Philadelphia's Dock Creek. Robert Gordon examines the environmental and social costs of mining anthracite. Both authors do a good job of analyzing the unintended consequences of technology, placing technological development into a broad context of social and economic decision making. Both suggest the ways in which the natural world lost its battle with new technologies. The two essays that might be of most interest to business historians are the weakest in the volume. Donald C. Jackson considers turnpikes in southeastern Pennsylvania. Patrick W. O'Bannon takes a close look at commercial brewing in Philadelphia. Beer drinking and beer brewing in Philadelphia changed with the introduction of porter in the late 18th century. Porter was an "industrial" product, easy to make but not particularly popular. The interactions of taste and technology shaped the beers brewers made and the ways they made them. Turnpikes, at least as important as beer, were equally the product of new technologies and public demand; but this essay, focused on the Germantown and Perkiomen Turnpike, fails to move far enough beyond the case study to questions of general interest. Most of the essays, though, should be of interest to readers who don't think of themselves as historians of technology. Indeed, that may be the rationale of this collection. The evidence of this volume suggests that the study of early American technology has learned from other aspects of the historiography of that period. History of technology, as presented here, is a key element of any understanding of the history of early America.
Electric power is so ubiquitous and so essential today, and the story of Thomas Edison's deve... more Electric power is so ubiquitous and so essential today, and the story of Thomas Edison's development of an electric lighting system has been told so effectively (most recently by Robert Friedel and Paul Israel in Edison's Electric Light, 1986) that it would be easy to assume that the business of providing electricity was immediately successful, with electric light and power companies earning generous profits and vanquishing the old technologies as soon as the first wire was strung. This decidedly was not the case. In 1912, thirty years after Edison's Pearl Street station had begun operating, less than 20 percent of the households in the United States had electricity, and the steam engine still dominated the factory. By 1932, 85 percent of urban households had electricity, and the electric motor was the major source of power in the factory. The story of the industry is actually one of slow, and far from inevitable, progress, a story that is effectively reinforced in this book.
Over the course of a little less than twenty years, inventor Frank J. Sprague (1857-1934) achieve... more Over the course of a little less than twenty years, inventor Frank J. Sprague (1857-1934) achieved an astonishing series of technological breakthroughs--from pioneering work in self-governing motors to developing the first full-scale operational electric railway system--all while commercializing his inventions and promoting them (and himself as their inventor) to financial backers and the public. In Engineering Invention, Frederick Dalzell tells Sprague's story, setting it against the backdrop of one of the most dynamic periods in the history of technology. In a burst of innovation during these years, Sprague and his contemporaries--Thomas Edison, Nicolas Tesla, Elmer Sperry, George Westinghouse, and others--transformed the technologies of electricity and reshaped modern life. After working briefly for Edison, Sprague started the Sprague Electric Railway and Motor Company; designed and built an electric railroad system for Richmond, Virginia; sold his company to Edison and went into the field of electric elevators; almost accidentally discovered a multiple-control system that could equip electric train systems for mass transit; started a third company to commercialize this; then sold this company to Edison and retired (temporarily). Throughout his career, Dalzell tells us, Sprague framed technology as invention, cast himself as hero, and staged his technologies as dramas. He toiled against the odds, scraped together resources to found companies, bet those companies on technical feats--and pulled it off, multiple times. The idea of the "heroic inventor" is not, of course, the only way to frame the history of technology. Nevertheless, as Dalzell shows, Sprague, Edison, and others crafted the role consciously and actively, using it to generate vital impetus behind the process of innovation.
Neufeld John L., Hausman William J. L’industrie électrique aux Etats-Unis et le développement des... more Neufeld John L., Hausman William J. L’industrie électrique aux Etats-Unis et le développement des sociétés holding au début du XXe siècle. In: Bulletin d'histoire de l'électricité, n°14-15, décembre- juin 1989. p. 238
even some that have a dominating share of their activities there, are not legally Scottish compan... more even some that have a dominating share of their activities there, are not legally Scottish companies. Several times the authors try to deal with this difficulty, but it remains an almost insoluble weakness in trying to formulate any generalizations derived from this, or any similar study. A second methodological difficulty is of wider application. Any approach that counts heads of directors, or anything else for that matter, can so easily assume equality between them, but the influence of different directors varies and even multiple directorships do not necessarily multiply control. The qualification is particularly necessary among the financial institutions, especially the banks, which have long been a major part of Scottish capital and in which, for example, having members of the peerage on the board was probably assumed to give a guarantee of stability as significant as ornate buildings. More important, some who do not appear on the authors' lists of the apparently most influential, determined by multiple directorships or through interlocked companies, were more influential than those who do. It is not statistical analysis that can determine such influence but only more traditional examination of the histories of individual firms and of the decisionmaking process within them, or, to continue the authors' medical analogy, the examination of the physiology as well as the anatomy of Scottish capital. Such criticisms of method do not detract from the work done. The book will be a valuable aid to further study, especially in the mass of information it has made available, but it is not the whole story of Scottish capital, and to start drawing conclusions about the control of industry and the influence of the "propertied class" from it is premature.
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