AbstractsSociology

In this industrial History of Birmingham and the Black Country, I have tried to trace the course of economic development from two points of view. In the first place, I have been concerned with the transformation which has occurred since 1860 in the general industrial character of the area and with the changes in the relative importance of the chief manufactures. This part of my work has involved a detailed description of Birmingham and District as it appeared in I860, and a consideration of the forces which have since been at work in causing the rise of some trades and the decline of others. My second object has been to examine the methods of manufacture and sale and the scale of production which has been associated with the leading industries at different times and so to indicate the general development which has taken place in industrial organisation.