King Cotton: A Tribute to Douglas A. Farnie

Abstract

Professor Douglas Farnie made a lasting impression on everybody who was fortunate enough to meet him. His enthusiasm for, and his encyclopaedic knowledge of, Lancashire's industrial and regional history (and specifically the region's hallmark, the cotton textile industry) was unprecedented. As the pre-eminent historian of the Lancashire cotton industry, his best known work was The English Cotton Industry and the World Market, 1815–1896 (1979; rev. ante, xcv [1980], 635–6). This comprised an empirical examination of the industry's search for foreign markets and its internal structural constraints, while also introducing new topics to the field, including the problems attributable to the co-operative model of ownership and the rise and fall of vertically integrated firms. In addition to his exemplary scholarship, Farnie will also be remembered for the support and kindness he demonstrated to both students and fellow researchers. Many of us were privileged enough to receive at least one file card of information which either answered a specific question or provided material he thought might be helpful for our research. It is therefore only fitting that a Festschrift be written to honour one of the most acclaimed economic historians in recent years, who influenced scholars around the world and whose scholarship will continue to influence historians for years to come. And, to that purpose, this book fulfils its aims.