A New Order of Things: How the Textile Industry Transformed New England [Hardcover]

Paul E. Rivard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2002

A lavishly-illustrated social history of the manufacture that did most to transform the character of New England and of America.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

8 1/2 x 11 trim. 150 illus. (100 color). LC 2002-001698

About the Author

PAUL E. RIVARD served as Director of the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, MA, from 1991 to 1999, and as Curator of Technology through 2001. He has also served as Director of the Maine State Museum, the Slater Mill Historic Site. He works today planning exhibitions for a number of New England museums.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 172 pages
• Publisher: UPNE (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584652837
• ISBN-13: 978-1584652830
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 8.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,364,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Early Industrial Textiles in New England, December 23, 2011

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This review is from: A New Order of Things: How the Textile Industry Transformed New England (Paperback)

This is an extremely readable, very good history of the transformation of textile production in eastern New England from a home-based craft to an industrial enterprise. The history of the early mills - such as the Slater Mill in Rhode Island - is described in a fair amount of detail. The fascinating era of the "outwork weavers" in the early 19th century provides one of the book's high points. "A New Order of Things" is filled with beautiful photographs of mills, textiles, and early industrial textile machinery, and should be much better known than it is. The University Press of New England deserves a great deal of credit for continuing to publish high quality books on various aspects of New England history and culture. Readers who enjoy "A New Order of Things" should also read Gail Fowler Mohanty's essay, "Rhode Island Handloom Weavers: A Probate Perspective," which can be found in the book, "Early American Probate Inventories" (Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife).