The Great Industries of the United States Being an Historical Summary of the Origin, Growth, and Perfection of the Chief Industrial Arts of This Country

The technological revolution of the nineteenth century transformed every trade and area of manufacture. Nowhere were the changes wrought by the application of new machinery and techniques more extensive than in the United States, which was by the end of the century firmly established as the world's technological frontier.

The Great Industries of the United States is a unique source of reference on industrial production in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Written to satisfy 'the desire upon the part of every skilled man to know something of the character and pursuits of his fellow-men in every other art of importance', it details the techniques, processes and machinery employed in more than 150 countries.

The breadth of the coverage demonstrates the extent of the transformation with every sector of the economy undergoing fundamental change:

-agriculture, with extensive coverage of the mechanization of farming
-transport, not only with the coming of railroads, but with the constant improvements in carriage manufacture
-communications, including the development of the telegraph and innovations in the printing industry
-manufacturing, from furniture to the emerging chemical industries
-the defence industry
-public and social services with a host of innovations from steam-driven fire engines to improvements in the manufacture of artificial limbs

Extensively illustrated throughout, each section includes an overview of the technology prevalent in that branch of industry and an outline of the most recent innovations.

-key source in the history of technology and business history
-over 500 wood engraved illustrations
-a wealth of material, extensively indexed by name and subject