The early English cotton industry

The book traces the origins and growth of cotton manufacture in England from early imports and domestic textile traditions through the transition from domestic putting-out systems to factory production. It examines economic and institutional factors—guild and merchant-company constraints, capital and credit flows, and regional conditions in Lancashire—that shaped industrial change, using business records and unpublished letters of Samuel Crompton to illuminate practice and innovation. Chapters combine broad narrative of technological, social, and commercial developments with documentary excerpts and an introductory essay on industrial organization, ending with detailed case material illustrating the move toward mechanized and capital-intensive production.