The Franklin Stove : an unintended American revolution / Joyce E. Chaplin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chaplin, Joyce E., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--History--18th century.

United States.

Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790--Influence.

Franklin, Benjamin.

Stoves, Wood--Pennsylvania--History--18th century.

Stoves, Wood.

Climatic changes--History.

Climatic changes.

United States--18th century.

Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790.

Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.).

Pennsylvania.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

viii, 422 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Unintended American revolution

Place of Publication:

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2025.

Summary:

"The biggest revolution in Benjamin Franklin's lifetime was made to fit in a fireplace. Assembled from iron plates like a piece of flatpack furniture, the Franklin stove became one of the era's most iconic consumer products, spreading from Pennsylvania to England, Italy, and beyond. It was more than just a material object, however--it was also a hypothesis. Franklin was proposing that, armed with science, he could invent his way out of a climate crisis: a period of global cooling known as the Little Ice Age, when unusually bitter winters sometimes brought life to a standstill. He believed that his stove could provide snug indoor comfort despite another, related crisis: a shortage of wood caused by widespread deforestation. And he conceived of his invention as equal parts appliance and scientific instrument--a device that, by modifying how heat and air moved through indoor spaces, might reveal the workings of the atmosphere outside and explain why it seemed to be changing. With his stove, Franklin became America's first climate scientist" -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: Make haste slowly

Promethean

Forging

The Pennsylvanian fireplace

Atmospheres

Grow or die

Fueled by fossils

The American Revolution?

Novus ordo seclorum

Keystone state

Coda: God helps them who helps themselves.

Notes:

Includes bibliographic references (pages 355-401) and index.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: Gemmill fund bookplate.

ISBN:

9780374613808

037461380X

OCLC:

1506198888

Publisher Number:

CIPO000193981