The Triumph of Textiles
Industrial Dundee, c. 1700-1918
Published on 31. March 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-3995-3782-7 (ISBN)
Description
A fresh account of the remarkable rise of Dundee as a global industrial city - and the origins of its later demise. The background to jute, the product most closely associated with Dundee, is investigated in unprecedented depth. The role of flax and linen as foundations for the jute industry is emphasised.
The book challenges many perceptions of Dundee. Linen was as important to Dundee before c.1850 as jute was afterwards; the significance of jute pre-1850 has often been exaggerated by historians. Traditionally Dundee's success was attributed to the production of cheap coarse cloth for sacks, bagging etc. Yet many firms manufactured high quality, admiralty grade canvas, and colourful rugs and carpets in imitation of Brussels and other woollen floor coverings.
Design was important. So too were enterprising merchants and manufacturers from the early eighteenth century onwards. Although squalor and industrial and social conflict became the norm after the 1870s, prior to that Dundee was relatively buoyant economically, and greatly admired by visitors including those from as far afield as the US. In short, Dundee was one of Scotland's industrial powerhouses - a fact too often overlooked.
The book challenges many perceptions of Dundee. Linen was as important to Dundee before c.1850 as jute was afterwards; the significance of jute pre-1850 has often been exaggerated by historians. Traditionally Dundee's success was attributed to the production of cheap coarse cloth for sacks, bagging etc. Yet many firms manufactured high quality, admiralty grade canvas, and colourful rugs and carpets in imitation of Brussels and other woollen floor coverings.
Design was important. So too were enterprising merchants and manufacturers from the early eighteenth century onwards. Although squalor and industrial and social conflict became the norm after the 1870s, prior to that Dundee was relatively buoyant economically, and greatly admired by visitors including those from as far afield as the US. In short, Dundee was one of Scotland's industrial powerhouses - a fact too often overlooked.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
20 black and white illustrations, 10 black and white tables
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
470 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-3995-3782-7 (9781399537827)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Christopher A. Whatley OBE, FRSE, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Dundee. He is the author of the award-winning The Scots and the Union (EUP, 2006 and 2014), and co-edited Edinburgh University Press's History of Everyday Life in Scotland series. Long interested in Dundee's history he has co-edited and written several books on the city.
Christopher A. Whatley OBE, FRSE, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Dundee. He is the author of the award-winning The Scots and the Union (EUP, 2006 and 2014), and co-edited Edinburgh University Press's History of Everyday Life in Scotland series. Long interested in Dundee's history he has co-edited and written several books on the city.
Jim Tomlinson is Professor in Economic & Social History at the University of Glasgow, and author of Managing the Economy, Managing the People. Narratives of British Economic Life from Beveridge to Brexit (Oxford University Press, 2017).
Christopher A. Whatley OBE, FRSE, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Dundee. He is the author of the award-winning The Scots and the Union (EUP, 2006 and 2014), and co-edited Edinburgh University Press's History of Everyday Life in Scotland series. Long interested in Dundee's history he has co-edited and written several books on the city.
Jim Tomlinson is Professor in Economic & Social History at the University of Glasgow, and author of Managing the Economy, Managing the People. Narratives of British Economic Life from Beveridge to Brexit (Oxford University Press, 2017).
Content
Acknowledgements
List of Tables
Illustrations
Introduction: Re-writing the history of Industrial Dundee
Chapter One: Dundee: The First Town in Great Britain'The manufacture of linen is now...our principal article of trade...and Dundee is considered, in regard to this kind of manufacture, the first town in Great Britain.'
Chapter Two: The English East India Company and Dundee's emergence as a global city, 1830s-1870s'A success that has enriched Scotland and promoted the commerce of the world.'
Chapter Three: Entrepreneurial endeavour, from Angus flax merchants to 'Lords o' Juteopolis''Nearly half a century ago some sagacious Scotchmen engaged in the manufacture of jute' (1883)
Chapter Four: Dundee's people and the headlong chaos of industrial transformationA 'starving, turbulent population'?
Chapter Five: The Darker SideIndustrial Dundee: 'a very dangerous place to live'?
Chapter Six: Kolkata bites back: the one-industry city under duress'Of late, the jute mills of India have been dangerous competitors' (1883)
Chapter Seven: The city divided, c.1876-1918'Ye rich, that move through plenty/Just think of poor Dundee'
Chapter Eight: The City and the First World War'[Dundee] is in the strongest position in jute commodities that has ever been experienced' (1915)
Afterword
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List of Tables
Illustrations
Introduction: Re-writing the history of Industrial Dundee
Chapter One: Dundee: The First Town in Great Britain'The manufacture of linen is now...our principal article of trade...and Dundee is considered, in regard to this kind of manufacture, the first town in Great Britain.'
Chapter Two: The English East India Company and Dundee's emergence as a global city, 1830s-1870s'A success that has enriched Scotland and promoted the commerce of the world.'
Chapter Three: Entrepreneurial endeavour, from Angus flax merchants to 'Lords o' Juteopolis''Nearly half a century ago some sagacious Scotchmen engaged in the manufacture of jute' (1883)
Chapter Four: Dundee's people and the headlong chaos of industrial transformationA 'starving, turbulent population'?
Chapter Five: The Darker SideIndustrial Dundee: 'a very dangerous place to live'?
Chapter Six: Kolkata bites back: the one-industry city under duress'Of late, the jute mills of India have been dangerous competitors' (1883)
Chapter Seven: The city divided, c.1876-1918'Ye rich, that move through plenty/Just think of poor Dundee'
Chapter Eight: The City and the First World War'[Dundee] is in the strongest position in jute commodities that has ever been experienced' (1915)
Afterword
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