A Short History of Technology From the Earliest Times to A.D. 1900

Highly readable survey relates technology to historical epochs from earliest times to the onset of Industrial Revolution, and from mid-18th century to beginning of the 20th. Food production, metalworking, building construction, early sources of power, development of steam engine, mining, internal combustion machines, electricity, more. 354 black-and-white illustrations. 1961 edition.

PART I FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO A.D. 1750
I. GENERAL HISTORICAL SURVEY
    Man before civilization
    Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations
    The rise of Greece and Rome
    The Roman Empire
    The earlier Middle Ages
    The later Middle Ages
    The Renaissance
    The emergence of the modern world
2. THE PRODUCTION OF FOOD
    Domestication of animals
    Origins of agriculture
    Irrigation
    Growth of tillage in Europe
    Preparation of food and drink
    Fisheries
    Effects of the geographical discoveries
    "Progress of agriculture, c. A.D. I500-I750"
    Land reclamation
3. PRODUCTION FOR DOMESTIC NEEDS
    Early pottery
    Early textiles
    "Ivory, wood, leather, glass"
    The contribution of the Greek and Roman world
    The Middle Ages
    Medieval textiles and leather-work
    Furniture
    Textiles and glass
4. THE EXTRACTION AND WORKING OF METALS
    The earliest use of metals: the Bronze Age
    The early Iron Age of Greece and Rome
    Metal-working in the Middle Ages
    Extension of the use of metals
    Further developments of the iron industry
    Armaments
    Instrument-making
5. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
    The early empires
    Greek and Roman building
    The Middle Ages
    Building from the Renaissance to the eighteenth century
6. TRANSPORT
    Beginnings: the wheel and the horse
    The Graeco-Roman period
    Transport in the Middle Ages
    The period of the great geographical discoveries
    Development from I600 to I750
7. COMMUNICATION AND RECORD
    Speech and record
    Measurement
    Cartography
    Paper
    Origins of printing
    "Developments, I500-I750"
8. EARLY SOURCES OF POWER
    Man and animal power
    The water-wheel
    The windmill
9. THE BEGINNINGS OF THE CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
    The chemical industry in ancient times
    Chemistry and the textile industry
    The manufacture of gunpowder
    The alchemists and the iatrochemists
    The beginning of modern chemistry
PART II THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION TO A.D. 1900
10. HISTORICAL SURVEY (I750-I900)
    General Introduction
    "The quickening tempo of industry, I750-92"
    "The period of the great French wars, I792-I8I5"
    "From Waterloo to the Great Exhibition, I815-5I"
    "The period of nationalist wars, I85I-7I"
    "The age of materialism, I87I-I900"
II. THE STEAM-ENGINE
    Introduction
    Pioneers of the steam-engine
    Watt and Trevithick
    The steam-engine applied to transport
    Locomotives and stationary steam-engines
    Later development of the steam-engine
    Steam-turbines
    The theoretical background
I2. MACHINE-TOOLS AND THEIR PRODUCTS
    Introduction
    Growth of precision work
    The succession of pioneers
    The 'American System'
    "Further developments, I850-I900"
I3. MODERN TRANSPORT
    The last era of sail
    The era of iron and steel steamships
    The growth of railways
    The road-steamer and the bicycle
    The early motor-car
    Initiation of the conquest of the air
I4. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION: REQUIREMENTS OF URBAN COMMUNITIES
    The civil engineer
    "Building materials, I750-I850"
    Furniture
    "New uses of wrought iron, steel, and concrete"
    Improvement of water-supply
    Drainage and sanitation
I5. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION: REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANSPORT
    Road-making
    Canals and river-improvements
    Railways: the permanent way
    Bridges
    Tunnels
    Land works facilitating sea traffic
I6. COAL AND THE METALS
    Coal-mining
    Cast and wrought iron
    The coming of cheap steel
    "Exploitation of non-ferrous metals, I750-I900"
    New metal products
    Armaments
I7. "NEW MATERIALS: COAL-GAS, PETROLEUM, AND RUBBER"
    Origins of gas-lighting
    The gas age
    Early exploitation of bituminous deposits
    The oil-well industry
    Early rubber manufacture
    Vulcanization and wider uses of rubber
    Plantation rubber
I8. THE RISE OF THE MODERN CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
    The chemical industry and the industrial revolution
    "Later developments in the manufacture of soda and sulphuric acid, I830-I900"
    Synthetic dyes
    Explosives
    Some electrochemical processes
    Artificial fertilizers
    "Other developments, I830-I900"
    Some chemical contributions to medicine
I9. TEXTILES
    "Spinning-machinery, I760-I850"
    Improvements in weaving
    "Spread of textile machinery, to I850"
    Hoisery and lace-making
    The sewing machine
    "The textile industries, I850-I900"
20. POTTERY AND GLASS
    The pottery industry in the eighteenth century
    Nineteenth-century developments
    Progress of glass-making
    Glass-making
2I. THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
    Introduction
    Gas-engines
    Oil-engines
    Petrol-engines
    Conclusion
22. THE ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY
    Historical Introduction
    The generation of electricity
    Distribution
    Telegraphy and telephony
    Electric lighting
    The electric-motor
23. "PRINTING, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND THE CINEMA"
    The casting and setting of type
    The typewriter
    The modern printing-press
    "Paper-making, binding, and illustrating"
    Early history of photography
    Photography for the amateur and the illustrator
    Development of cinematography
24. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD
    Agriculture: the implements
    Agriculture: the products
    "Agriculture: world changes, I850-I900"
    Food management: fish supplies and whaling
    Processing and preservation of food
    Canning and refrigeration
25. EPILOGUE: TECHNOLOGICAL AND GENERAL HISTORY
  CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES
  BIBLIOGRAPHY
  INDEX OF SUBJECTS
  INDEX OF PERSONS AND PLACE-NAMES