The marvels of modern mechanism and their relation to social betterment

By Jerome Bruce Crabtree

Book Overview

Steam, steel, and ingenuity remade daily life. Machines changed everything, almost overnight. In The marvels of modern mechanism and their relation to social betterment, Jerome Bruce Crabtree maps the leap from hand work to powered production with brisk clarity, turning the history of machinery into vivid popular science nonfiction. He traces so-called labor-saving mechanical devices and the practical reasoning behind them, showing how mechanization and social change moved together: time saved, work reorganised, new expectations born. He also keeps an eye on the human ledger: comfort, risk, opportunity, and the moral confidence that accompanied invention. At once accessible and exact, it bridges workshop fact and drawing-room debate, still making it easy to see why mechanical invention became a language of social betterment in its day. Written in the industrial revolution era's long aftermath and alert to late nineteenth century technology, this industrial technology reference captures Victorian science and industry at full stride. Its value lies not only in what it explains, but in how it explains it: a period account of inventions that shaped society, presented with the ambition of an illustrated inventions compendium. Engineering history students will find a reliable lens on attitudes and terminology, while inventors and makers reading for fresh perspective will recognise enduring design instincts. Out of print for decades and now republished by Alpha Editions. Restored for today's and future generations. More than a reprint -- a collector's item and a cultural treasure, suited to casual readers of engineering lore and to classic-technology libraries alike.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9353801249
• ISBN13: 9789353801243
• Release Date: July 2019
• Publisher: Alpha Edition
• Length: 782 Pages
• Weight: 2.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"