Markets and measurements in nineteenth century Britain / Aashish Velkar.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Velkar, Aashish, 1969- author.

Series:

Cambridge studies in economic history. Second series.

Cambridge studies in economic history. Second series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Weights and measures--Great Britain--History--19th century.

Weights and measures.

Metrology--Great Britain--History--19th century.

Metrology.

Great Britain--Commerce--History--19th century.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 262 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Other Title:

Markets & Measurements in Nineteenth-Century Britain

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Measurements are a central institutional component of markets and economic exchange. By the nineteenth century, the measurement system in Britain was desperately in need of revision: a multiplicity of measurement standards, proliferation of local or regional weights and measures, and a confusing array of measurement practices made everyday measurements unreliable. Aashish Velkar uncovers how metrology and economic logic alone failed to make 'measurements' reliable, and discusses the importance of localised practices in shaping trust in them. Markets and Measurements in Nineteenth-Century Britain steers away from the traditional explanations of measurement reliability based on the standardisation and centralisation of metrology; the focus is on changing measurement practices in local economic contexts. Detailed case studies from the industrial revolution suggest that such practices were path-dependent and 'anthropocentric'. Therefore, whilst standardised metrology may have improved precision, it was localised practices that determined the reliability and trustworthiness of measurements in economic contexts.

Contents:

Cover; Markets and Measurements in Nineteenth-Century Britain; Series; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; List of Figures; List of Tables; Acknowledgements; 1: Markets and measurements: An introduction; Metrology, mensuration and measurement practices; What made measurements reliable?; The State and the science of measurements; Was Britain unique?; The economy, markets and measurement practices; Economic and industrial growth; Business and industry: organisation and structure; Standardisation and the sameness of things; Dynamics of contractual liability; Politics of the market

Implications2: Inching towards the metre: Measurements, metrology and reform; Nature and variability of historical measurements; Variation in measurements; Reforming Britains weights and measures; Imperial measures of 1824; Initiatives for reform; Further reforms; Reforming European metrology; The metric revolution (c. 1790-1840); International acceptance (1851-1875); Metric system and British defiance; Trade, empire and metrology; Importance of local measurement practices; 3: Mensuration and local measurement practices; Metrological realism and measurement conventions

Understanding mensurationComparison; Contextualisation; Measurement tools: instruments, protocols and standards; Standards; Standard setting and standardisation; Mensuration and local measurement practices; 4: Governance and regulation: Standardising measurements in the London coal trade (c.1830); Structure of the London coal trade; Measurements used in the London coal trade; The coal bushel; Heaped measures; The ingrain; Weight-volume conversions; Reforming the coal trade (1800-1830); Significance of the reforms; Conclusions

5: Competition, cooperation and standardisation: Uniform measurements in the British wire industry (c.1880)Wire manufacturing in England; Wire sizes: the source of transactional problems; Wire gauges: the source of unreliable measurements; Standardising measurements: a solution for transactional problems; Early attempts; Competing proposals and standardisation: 1878-1883; Competition, coordination and negotiation for standard wire sizes; Gauges after 1883; Conclusions; 6: Globalisation, commodity grading and quality measurements in nineteenth-century wheat markets

British wheat markets in the nineteenth centuryMeasuring quality: a supply-side perspective; Measuring quality: a demand-side perspective; The case of natural weight measurements; Measurements, grading and institutions; Conclusions; 7: 'Man is the measure of all things': Conclusions and Implications; Historical (re)interpretation; Implications; Appendix 2.1: Milestones in the international acceptance of the metric system; Appendix 4.1: Analysis of local practices and measurement inconsistencies in the London coal trade; Variability due to conversion

Appendix 4.2: Financial details of the metage system operated by the city of London

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-139-54025-4

1-107-23186-8

1-283-52215-2

1-139-52746-0

9786613834607

1-139-52626-X

1-139-53212-X

1-139-15103-7

1-139-53093-3

1-139-52865-3

OCLC:

804664893