The Skilled Compositor, 1850–1914

The Skilled Compositor, 1850–1914
Author :
Publisher : Routledge
Total Pages : 265
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781351881838
ISBN-13 : 1351881833
Rating : 4/5 (38 Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Skilled Compositor, 1850–1914 by : Patrick Duffy

Download or read book The Skilled Compositor, 1850–1914 written by Patrick Duffy and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-03-02 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the first time since its invention over 500 years ago, the print medium is being challenged as the primary means of recording and communicating ideas. Indeed, within the printing industry itself the advent of digital technology has rendered the craft of hand setting metal type obsolete - the days of the skilled compositor are now at an end. Patrick Duffy’s work sets out to examine the experiences of the skilled compositor in the period 1850 to 1914. Focusing primarily on the workplace and the workplace institutions, it aims to explore issues of control, co-operation and conflict in order to determine if the compositor did, as many labour historians claim, belong to an aristocracy of labour. Drawing on a wide range of source material from trade society minutes to Parliamentary Papers, the author explores the diversity of experience that compositors had in the workplace and the uneven patterns of change that the trade experienced. The study throws light on some of the issues raised by these changes: what part did ancient craft traditions play in the maintenance of control in the workplace? Why were women excluded from this particular work when they were accepted in most other parts of the trade? To what extent did trade society officials represent the aspirations of the rank and file membership? Starting with an overview of the nature, growth and development of the trade, the book goes on to examine the occupational and social aspects of the compositors' experience, with a chapter devoted to women's role in the printing trade. Finally, the formation, functions and development of relevant trades unions and employers' associations is discussed. This insightful analysis of the experience of the skilled compositor provides a valuable case study for labour historians at the same time furthering our understanding of a somewhat neglected aspect of printing history.


The Skilled Compositor, 1850–1914 Related Books

The Skilled Compositor, 1850–1914
Language: en
Pages: 265
Authors: Patrick Duffy
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017-03-02 - Publisher: Routledge

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

For the first time since its invention over 500 years ago, the print medium is being challenged as the primary means of recording and communicating ideas. Indee
British Conservatism and Trade Unionism, 1945–1964
Language: en
Pages: 218
Authors: Peter Dorey
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2016-05-23 - Publisher: Routledge

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

For most of the twentieth century, the Conservative Party engaged in an ongoing struggle to curb the power of the trade unions, culminating in the radical legis
British Mail Steamers to South America, 1851-1965
Language: en
Pages: 269
Authors: Robert E. Forrester
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2016-04-15 - Publisher: Routledge

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

During the nineteenth century Britain’s maritime, commercial and colonial interests all depended upon a regular and reliable flow of seaborne information from
British Entrepreneurship in Poland
Language: en
Pages: 318
Authors: Sarah Dietz
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2016-03-09 - Publisher: Routledge

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Drawing upon an impressive range of international sources, this book explores the late-nineteenth century partnership between Bradford worsted manufacturers the
The Eclipse of 'Elegant Economy'
Language: en
Pages: 287
Authors: Martin Cohen
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2016-03-23 - Publisher: Routledge

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Elizabeth Gaskell might have been amused to learn that the Victorian 'elegant economy' she mocked so poignantly in Cranford reached a new apogee in the mid-twen