James Nasmyth and the Bridgewater Foundry: A Study of Entrepreneurship in the Early Engineering Industry by J. A. Cantrell

Abstract

478 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE ful but generally dated—except in construction history, where more specialized studies of particular topics (adhesives, prefabrication, HVAC) remain sadly lacking. The author makes interesting use of a series of construction cost-estimating manuals published after 1851 in order to document the relative importance of machinery in struc­ tures. The book is copiously illustrated with many full-page line draw­ ings; for instance, one of an elaborate Baroque column with an arrow directed to it from its solitary label reading “Plaster.” What was the point? Must an example of infill be depicted with more infill? Nonetheless, there is much of value in this work. For the specialist, the author has collected and organized a great deal of historical in­ formation; most of the book’s many tables and charts are clearly pre­ sented, as are the five appendixes that chart the chronological development of the five components, simultaneously tracing different aspects of each in several columns on each page. Supplemented with historical anecdotes from other sources, these chronologies are useful frameworks for those who are preparing lectures on the history of building construction. For the historian of technology, the book high­ lights the relationship between technology and (at least supply-side) economics, especially among design alternatives, costs, and final de­ sign decisions, although a history of product planning and that hybrid group of economist-engineers known as product planners has yet to be written. We know now how the refrigerator got its hum and why it turned “harvest gold” or “avocado,” but what about the origins of its more mundane characteristics such as materials, size, shape, and ratio of freezer to cold space? Jane Morley Ms. Morley is completing her doctorate in the history and sociology of science at the University of Pennsylvania; her dissertation is entitled “Moving Right Along: Frank B. Gilbreth, Building Contractor, Inventor, and Industrial Consultant.” James Nasmyth and the Bridgewater Foundry: A Study of Entrepreneurship in the Early Engineering Industry. By J. A. Cantrell. Manchester and Dover, N.H.: Manchester University Press, 1985. Pp. viii + 279; il­ lustrations, tables, notes, appendixes, bibliography, index. £25.00; $33.00. This is a business and technical history of the engineering firm established by the claimed inventor of the steam hammer. Not since Samuel Smiles’s Industrial Biography (1863) and his later edition of Nasmyth’s Autobiography (1883) has there been a full-length discussion of Nasmyth’s engineering and business achievements. Smiles is still the main source of information for Nasmyth’s childhood, education, private life, and retirement. But a collection of Nasmyth papers, amassed from various sources since the 1950s, enabled J. A. Cantrell TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 479 to assess the role of invention in the business accomplishments of a major British machine-tool producer, as well as to discuss sources of capital and the contribution made by business partners and employees to the firm’s success. Nasmyth served as personal assistant to Henry Maudslay between 1829 and 1831, then returned to Edinburgh to make preparations for establishing himself as an independent engineer. By 1834 he had sufficient machine tools and capital to commence on his own; after a short period of indecision about whether to base himself in Liverpool or Manchester, he selected the latter. Manchester was the mecca for a number of engineering firms in the early 19th century. The growth in the demand for self-acting tools, added to the improved commu­ nications consequent on the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, made the city a happy choice for the young and ambitious Nasmyth. One of Cantrell’s main contributions is his careful assessment of the many claims made by Nasmyth to enhance the hero image. For example, Nasmyth failed to mention the role of the Birley family as initial sleeping partners in the firm. In the fraught area of the inven­ tion of the steam hammer, Cantrell considers the role of the French firm of Le Creuzot and the contribution ofthe general works manager, Robert Wilson. Nasmyth’s highly uncharitable behavior in regard to Wilson resulted in public acrimony and doubt. But there is no doubt about the hammer’s contribution in the success of...