Ironbridge to Crystal Palace

ONE OF THE MOST important surviving symbols of Britain's emergence as the world's first industrial nation is the Iron Bridge at Coalbrookdale in Shropshire; the first of its kind, this bridge was cast by Abraham Darby III at his foundry nearby, and built in the summer of 1779. Taking this momentous event as his starting point, Asa Briggs traces the growth and spread of industrial technology, based on coal, iron and steam power, to other parts of the country - including such major centres as Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford and Birmingham - before reaching out to embrace Europe, North America and the world at large. He looks at the new arteries of communication, first the c nals and later the railways; the outstanding inventors, engineers and ntrepreneurs such as Arkwright, Boulton and Watt, the Stephensons, Telford, BruneI and Wedgwood, all of whom played an important role - together with the navvies and the new industrial workforce - in creating the revolution. He also explains the newly 'developed processes in industries such as ironfounding, coal mining and textile manufacturing, and reviews the products of the early industrial era which were exhibited at the Crystal Palace in 185 I, another symbolic landmark - and one of international importance.

Eacb section of the book is illustrated with mostly contemporary drawings, engravings, paintings and photographs, many of these being items from the Elton Collection, an unrivalled source of visual material associated with Britain's early industrial history, which now has a permanent home in the care of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.

PLEASE NOTE: All the copies have been purchased from high-class antique book dealers and are therefore of good quality. Second hand books are however subject to the usual problems - light foxing and / or lightly stained pages, loose or missing spines and the page edges, etc may not be perfect. Where available the jackets may not be perfect (and we may not have any in stock with a jacket). The pages are always fully secure. The best available copy of the book will always be sent.

Hardback 237 illustration, drawings and plans