The Metallurgic Age
The Victorian Flowering of Invention and Industrial Science
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About the Book
Throughout history, the use and workmanship of metal has been closely associated with the very notion of civilization. Never was this connection more apparent than during the Metallurgic Age, which coincided with England’s Victorian era and the Gilded Age in America. This era, covering essentially the 19th century, saw unprecedented advances as a passion for technology and learning fueled a period of discovery and of practical application of the sciences.
This work explores in depth the connection between Victorian creativity and the advance of engineering. It examines this age of accelerated invention and the evolution of new fields such as metallurgy, automotive engineering, aerodynamics and industrial arts. Numerous unsung inventors—many of whom lost one or more of the frequent patent battles that peppered the era—are remembered here along with the concept of the meta-invention. The result is a revealing look at how metallurgy permeated all areas of Victorian life and affected changes from the kitchen to the battlefield.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
Quentin R. Skrabec, Jr.
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 259
Bibliographic Info: photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2006
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2326-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1113-6
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
1. The Metallurgic Age 7
2. Victorian Incubators—The Great Exhibitions 25
3. Scientific Romances and the Materials Revolution 38
4. Victorian Iron—The Foundation of the Age 51
5. William Kelly—The Inventor of the Bessemer Process 63
6. Victorian Wars and Technology 84
7. Trains and Boats 103
8. Aluminum—Victorian Gold 120
9. Basic Victorian Electricity 130
10. Victorian Metallurgy 147
11. Victorian Toolmaking 161
12. The Victorian Concept of Management 179
13. The Copper Legend—Thomas Edison 193
14. War of the Currents 208
15. The Automobile 223
Epilogue 229
Chapter Notes 241
Bibliography 244
Index 247
