Publisher's Synopsis
These essays deal with the transfer of early industrial textile technology from Britain to the USA. Several investigate obstacles to this westward transatlantic flow: the attempts of the British Government to halt the emigration of skilled artisans and the export of machinery; the diverging cultural values increasingly separating British and American entrepreneurs; and the welter of technical traditions in the UKÆs textile districts. A second group treats channels or vehicles of transfer. Prominent topics here are the efforts of Americans to recruit skilled British workers; the roles of immigrant machine makers; and the efforts of American visitors to Britain to engage in industrial espionage. The last group of essays studies ways in which American industrialists and engineers modified the imported textile technology. The whole is prefaced by a substantial introduction arguing that the model of technology transfer found in the early industrial period has a wider and present-day applicability.
