British Machine Tool Industry, 1850-1914

Notes:

Scholarly account. Provides a history of the industry, notably its structure, its experience in international trade, its productivity and efficiency. Much is based on a case study of Greenwood & Batley Ltd. Looks generally at the importance of machine tools in the British economy. Its conclusions 'do not support pessimistic views of the performance of British industry'. 'This study is intended to do three things: to throw light on the history of a neglected but important industry, to discuss the relevance of the experience of the machine tool industry to a controversial period of British economic history, and, most generally, to discuss how it is possible to describe and explain invention, innovation, technical and technological change and its causes and consequences'. Has sections: 'The engineering industries'; 'The technical history of machine tools,1850-1914'; 'The machine tool industry - structure and explanation'; 'International trade in machine tools'; 'Greenwood & Batley - history, records, methods'; 'Greenwood & Batley - markets and prices'; 'Greenwood & Batley - production. 'Some coverage of Brown & Sharpe, of Bridgeport Machine Tool Co / Bullard Machine Co, Alfred Herbert. Much about productivity, international trade and production