Ironworks on the Saugus: The Lynn and Braintree Ventures of the Company of Undertakersof the Ironworks in New England by E. N. HartleyReview by: Frederick G. KilgourIsis, Vol. 53, No. 3 (Sep., 1962), p. 401Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/227798 .

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BOOK REVIEWS BOOK REVIEWS

E. N. HARTLEY. Ironworks on the Saugus: The Lynn and Braintree Ven- tures of the Company of Undertakers of the Ironworks in New England. xi + 328 pp., plates. Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1957. $4.50.

The author of this splendid book is exceptionally well qualified, for he was research historian on the Saugus Iron- works Restoration project from 1949 to 1954. He was most intimately involved in documentary and archeological in- vestigations from which the volume has greatly profited.

The book is a history largely of Ham- mersmith works at Lynn and treats more of economics than technology. Half the book is devoted to Hammer- smith with but one chapter being on the Braintree works. The monograph is equally a document in American colonial history and reveals much in the development of the first half cen- tury of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Of particular value is the description of iron metallurgy at Hammersmith which produced pig iron. The works represent the standard cast iron process as it existed between the time it be- came widely used in the fifteenth cen- tury and the general use of coke to replace charcoal in the middle of the eighteenth. Ironworks on the Saugus is a valuable description of as well equipped a works for producing and processing pig iron as could be found anywhere during those three centuries. The works' most advanced machinery was, perhaps, its rolling and slitting mill designed to produce nailer's rod from which nails were made. Needless to say, such nails were in great demand for the construction of New England's wooden frame houses. Although tech- nically Hammersmith was an efficient works, a combination of inadequate ore resources and inefficient business prac- tices not all under the control of the proprietors brought about its demise. Still, the works intermittently produced many tons of iron during the quarter century following its inception in the mid-1640's for which John Winthrop, Jr., had been largely responsible.

E. N. HARTLEY. Ironworks on the Saugus: The Lynn and Braintree Ven- tures of the Company of Undertakers of the Ironworks in New England. xi + 328 pp., plates. Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1957. $4.50.

The author of this splendid book is exceptionally well qualified, for he was research historian on the Saugus Iron- works Restoration project from 1949 to 1954. He was most intimately involved in documentary and archeological in- vestigations from which the volume has greatly profited.

The book is a history largely of Ham- mersmith works at Lynn and treats more of economics than technology. Half the book is devoted to Hammer- smith with but one chapter being on the Braintree works. The monograph is equally a document in American colonial history and reveals much in the development of the first half cen- tury of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Of particular value is the description of iron metallurgy at Hammersmith which produced pig iron. The works represent the standard cast iron process as it existed between the time it be- came widely used in the fifteenth cen- tury and the general use of coke to replace charcoal in the middle of the eighteenth. Ironworks on the Saugus is a valuable description of as well equipped a works for producing and processing pig iron as could be found anywhere during those three centuries. The works' most advanced machinery was, perhaps, its rolling and slitting mill designed to produce nailer's rod from which nails were made. Needless to say, such nails were in great demand for the construction of New England's wooden frame houses. Although tech- nically Hammersmith was an efficient works, a combination of inadequate ore resources and inefficient business prac- tices not all under the control of the proprietors brought about its demise. Still, the works intermittently produced many tons of iron during the quarter century following its inception in the mid-1640's for which John Winthrop, Jr., had been largely responsible.

The author has made extensive and effective use of published and manu- script sources here and in England. Bibliographical footnotes occupy the bottom of nearly every page. Anyone wishing to pursue further any detail in this work will find the way pointed out by its liberal references. The arche- ological sources which became avail- able as a result of the restoration ac- tivity have also been well used. The reader cannot help but be infused with desire to visit the restored Hammer- smith.

Treating as it does of the manage- ment, the workers, the technology, the business and legal involvements of Hammersmith, this volume constitutes a valuable contribution to early Ameri- can social history as well as to the history of the metallurgy of iron. More- over, the author has accomplished his goal superbly. Surely in the forseeable future this book will be the basic and probably the only monograph on Ham- mersmith.

FREDERICK G. KILGOUR

Yale University * * *

JAMES KIP FINCH. The Story of Engi- neering. 528 pp., illus. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co., 1960. $1.45. Anchor Book.

Das Buch von J. K. Finch, Dean Emeritus der School of Engineering an der Columbia University, gibt einen vorziiglichen AbriB der Geschichte der Technik, unter besonderer Betonung der Bautechnik. Das Schwergewicht der klaren und anschaulichen Darstel- lung, die vom alten Agypten und Meso- potamien bis in unsere Zeit fiihrt, liegt auf der neueren Entwicklung seit dem 18. Jahrhundert. Finch, der in glick- licher Weise fachlich technisches Wis- sen mit vorziiglichem historischen Ver- standnis verbindet, breitet- nament- lich fur das 19. Jahrhundert - eine be- wundernswerte Fiille von Material vor uns aus. Insbesondere wird auch der Aufstieg der amerikanischen Technik trefflich dargestellt, ohne daB aber die Entwicklung in Europa zu kurz kaime.

The author has made extensive and effective use of published and manu- script sources here and in England. Bibliographical footnotes occupy the bottom of nearly every page. Anyone wishing to pursue further any detail in this work will find the way pointed out by its liberal references. The arche- ological sources which became avail- able as a result of the restoration ac- tivity have also been well used. The reader cannot help but be infused with desire to visit the restored Hammer- smith.

Treating as it does of the manage- ment, the workers, the technology, the business and legal involvements of Hammersmith, this volume constitutes a valuable contribution to early Ameri- can social history as well as to the history of the metallurgy of iron. More- over, the author has accomplished his goal superbly. Surely in the forseeable future this book will be the basic and probably the only monograph on Ham- mersmith.

FREDERICK G. KILGOUR

Yale University * * *

JAMES KIP FINCH. The Story of Engi- neering. 528 pp., illus. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co., 1960. $1.45. Anchor Book.

Das Buch von J. K. Finch, Dean Emeritus der School of Engineering an der Columbia University, gibt einen vorziiglichen AbriB der Geschichte der Technik, unter besonderer Betonung der Bautechnik. Das Schwergewicht der klaren und anschaulichen Darstel- lung, die vom alten Agypten und Meso- potamien bis in unsere Zeit fiihrt, liegt auf der neueren Entwicklung seit dem 18. Jahrhundert. Finch, der in glick- licher Weise fachlich technisches Wis- sen mit vorziiglichem historischen Ver- standnis verbindet, breitet- nament- lich fur das 19. Jahrhundert - eine be- wundernswerte Fiille von Material vor uns aus. Insbesondere wird auch der Aufstieg der amerikanischen Technik trefflich dargestellt, ohne daB aber die Entwicklung in Europa zu kurz kaime.

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