History of the Cotton Manufacture in Great Britain
With a Notice of its Early History in the East, and in All the Quarters of the Globe

This 1835 work by Edward Baines remains significant for the detailed historical and economic information it contains.

Edward Baines (Author)

9781108080934, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 April 2015

598 pages, 29 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 3.4 cm, 0.75 kg

The journalist and politician Edward Baines (1800–90) succeeded his father as editor of the Leeds Mercury and as MP for Leeds. From a dissenting family, he was a social reformer but passionately believed that the state should not interfere in matters such as working hours and education. In this 1835 work, he sees the cotton industry as an exemplar of the unity of 'the manufactory, the laboratory, and the study of the natural philosopher', in making practical use of creative ideas and scientific discoveries. He surveys cotton manufacture from its origins to its 'second birth' in England, and focuses on the current state of machinery, trade and working conditions in all aspects of the business, and its outputs, including cloth, lace, stockings and cotton wool. This comprehensive work was important for its detailed analysis of a vital commercial activity, and remains so today for the historical information it contains.

Preface
1. Introduction
2. Early history of the cotton manufacture
3. The manufacture in Asia, Africa, and America
4. The manufacture in Europe
5. Summary of the early history
6. The cotton manufacture of India
7. The cotton manufacture in England
8. The era of invention
9. Inventions in spinning machines
10. The spinning machinery
11. The steam-engine, power-loom, etc.
12. Bleaching and calico printing
13. Cotton-wool
14. Commercial history
15. Extent and value of the manufacture
16. Condition of the working classes
17. Cotton manufacture in England
Appendix.

Subject Areas: British & Irish history [HBJD1]