Silk, the Thread that Tied the World
Published on 4. April 2023
192 pages
978-1-5267-8093-5 (ISBN)
Description
Over a thousand years ago the Chinese discovered that the slender filaments that formed the cocoon of the silk moth, could be woven into beautiful shimmering fabrics. For centuries they were able to keep the process a secret, but eventually started to trade the valuable cloth with the west, along the silk road. Silk was a luxury item that bestowed prestige, so it was inevitable that the wealthy wanted their silks to be as elaborate as possible, beautiful designs were produced in the Islamic world and gradually a European industry developed. In the 19th century mechanization of the time consuming hand weaving process, had resulted in products being produced using the Jacquard loom, which used punched cards to create a pattern. Silk remains the most beautiful woven material in the world, moving from its origins in ancient China to help transform the whole world.
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Anthony Burton
Silk, the Thread that Tied the World
Book
11/2021
Pen & Sword History
€31.50
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Person
Anthony Burton is a freelance author and broadcaster, who has specialized in industrial and transport history. He has been involved in around a hundred TV documentaries on these subjects, appearing on all the major networks. He has written biographies of some of the leading characters of the early industrial age: Thomas Telford, Richard Trevithick, Joseph Locke and Matthew Boulton, the latter with Jennifer Tann
Content
- Cover
- Book Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Preface
- Glossary
- Chapter One Bombyx Mori
- Chapter Two The Silk Road
- Chapter Three Invention and Innovation
- Chapter Four The Industry Moves West
- Chapter Five Renaissance Europe
- Chapter Six Automation
- Chapter Seven The British Industry
- Chapter Eight Silk Outside London
- Chapter Nine Waste Silk
- Chapter Ten The Americas
- Chapter Eleven Science and Silk
- Chapter Twelve Silk in the Modern World
- Chapter Thirteen The Web of Silk
- Select Bibliography
- Index
- Back Cover
