Jeremy (emeritus, business history, Manchester Metropolitan U.) and Darnell, archivist and librarian at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, reproduce and discuss the earliest known set of machine maker's workshop drawings produced in the US, the only ones that seem to have survived from the antebellum period. Markham produced the 60 drawings between 1814 and 1825, thus documenting an important stage in the shift from pre-industrial to industrial textile manufacture. Their topics include his life and work, the nascent American cotton-manufacturing industry, and the wider significance of his papers. The drawings illustrate machines for carding, continuous and intermittent spinning, warping and dressing, weaving, and other processes. Annotation 2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
