Proto-Industrialisation in Scandinavia: Craft Skills in the Industrial Revolution by Maths Isacson, Lars Magnusson

Abstract

TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 959 developed under early-20th-century welfare legislation. Thus, “the vast majority of the hospitals which the National Health Service was to inherit in 1948 as the basis for a single hospital system were already in place by the early 1920s.” Pickstone describes himself as “a historian of the [Manchester] Re­ gion,” and he has provided here an in-depth look at 200 years of medical, social, and political history in one of Britain’s foremost in­ dustrial areas. Elie Feuerwerker Dr. Eeuerwerker was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and is currently a research associate at Boston University’s Center for the Philosophy and History of Science. He is working on the foundation of the Montreal Neurological Institute. Proto-Industrialisation in Scandinavia: Craft Skills in the Industrial Revo­ lution. By Maths Isacson and Lars Magnusson. Leamington Spa and New York: Berg and St. Martin’s Press (dist.), 1987. Pp. x+151; illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $29.95. The much-debated concept of proto-industrialization was coined around 1970 to help in analyzing the early rural craft activity that in several cases functioned as the foundation for industrialization in Europe. The term was originally used for the densely populated areas of continental Europe to focus on pre-industrial conditions outside the towns and outside guild restrictions. Maths Isacson and Lars Mag­ nusson apply the term in an open-minded and critical way, in accor­ dance with Gottingen social historians P. Kriedke, H. Medick, and J. Schlumbohm. Their book contains an introduction discussing the theoretical framework, an overview of proto-industrialization in Scandinavia (ru­ dimentary), and, as the lengthiest and most important section, a more detailed analysis of proto-industry in central Sweden, including a dis­ cussion of how some areas developed into important industrial centers. Little work has been done on the theory of proto-industrialization in Scandinavia. Perhaps the most important contribution (in English) was a thematic issue of Scandinavian Economic History Review (vol. 30, no. 1, 1982), where most of the authors rejected the need for the term proto-industrialization, at least applied to the Scandinavian coun­ tries (including Finland). It is therefore refreshing to see Isacson and Magnusson use the concept for the three major areas discussed in the last part, Hedemora, Mora, and Eskilstuna. Since crafts here were limited primarily to metalworking and engineering, comparison of these regions provided a good opportunity to say something signifi­ cant about both proto-industrialization and its development into de­ industrialization, continued craft-based production, and modern in­ 960 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE dustry. Central to the discussion is the question of the development of craft-based skills and the subsequent division of labor. This is skill­ fully and broadly related to the socioeconomic context. Proto-Industrialisation in Scandinavia makes an important contribu­ tion to the understanding of the development of the modern engi­ neering industry with respect to the question of technology transfer and locally developed technology. I would have liked some more de­ tailed comments on the evolution of the trades per se, but this is not a major drawback. As a whole, the authors have provided a good explanation of how modern engineering developed under some con­ ditions and not under others. However, in doing so, they had to go beyond the concept of proto-industrialization, broadening and open­ ing it. It is important to look both to the countryside and to the cities to find the prerequisites for “the industrial and technological revo­ lution.” Thus the book is an example of how a particular concept, unless used carefully and critically, can present severe obstacles to analyzing important processes in the history of technology. Hàkon With Andersen Dr. Andersen is senior research fellow in the history of technology in the Depart­ ment of History, University of 'Trondheim. He has done research and published on shipping, shipbuilding, and engineering technologies, early engineering education, and the development of information technologies and electronics in Norway. Sawpower: Making Lumber in the Sawmills of Novel Scotia. By Barbara R. Robertson. Halifax: Nova Scotia Museum and Nimbus Publishing, 1986. Pp. 244; illustrations, tables, notes, glossary, appendix, bib­ liography, index. $C 19.95 + $C.75 handling (paper...