Book contents
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- Contents
- ILLUSTRATIONS
- CHAPTER I MY ANCESTRY
- CHAPTER II ALEXANDER NASMYTH
- CHAPTER III AN ARTIST'S FAMILY
- CHAPTER IV MY EARLY YEARS
- CHAPTER V MY SCHOOL-DAYS
- CHAPTER VI MECHANICAL BEGINNINGS
- CHAPTER VII HENRY MAUDSLEY, LONDON
- CHAPTER VIII MAUDSLEY'S PRIVATE ASSISTANT
- CHAPTER IX HOLIDAY IN THE MANUFACTURING DISTRICTS
- CHAPTER X BEGIN BUSINESS AT MANCHESTER
- CHAPTER XI BRIDGEWATER FOUNDRY—PARTNERSHIP
- CHAPTER XII FREE TRADE IN ABILITY—THE STRIKE—DEATH OF MY FATHER
- CHAPTER XIII MY MARRIAGE—THE STEAM HAMMER
- CHAPTER XIV TRAVELS IN FRANCE AND ITALY
- CHAPTER XV STEAM HAMMER PILE DRIVER
- CHAPTER XVI NUREMBERG—ST. PETERSBURG—DANNEMORA
- CHAPTER XVII MORE ABOUT BRIDGEWATER FOUNDRY—WOOLWICH ARSENAL
- CHAPTER XVIII ASTRONOMICAL PURSUITS
- CHAPTER XIX MORE ABOUT ASTRONOMY
- CHAPTER XX RETIREMENT FROM BUSINESS
- CHAPTER XXI ACTIVE LEISURE
- CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF INVENTIONS AND CONTRIVANCES
- SUN-RAY ORIGIN OF THE PYRAMIDS, AND CUNEIFORM CHARACTER
- INDEX
- Plate section
CHAPTER XII - FREE TRADE IN ABILITY—THE STRIKE—DEATH OF MY FATHER
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 November 2010
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- Contents
- ILLUSTRATIONS
- CHAPTER I MY ANCESTRY
- CHAPTER II ALEXANDER NASMYTH
- CHAPTER III AN ARTIST'S FAMILY
- CHAPTER IV MY EARLY YEARS
- CHAPTER V MY SCHOOL-DAYS
- CHAPTER VI MECHANICAL BEGINNINGS
- CHAPTER VII HENRY MAUDSLEY, LONDON
- CHAPTER VIII MAUDSLEY'S PRIVATE ASSISTANT
- CHAPTER IX HOLIDAY IN THE MANUFACTURING DISTRICTS
- CHAPTER X BEGIN BUSINESS AT MANCHESTER
- CHAPTER XI BRIDGEWATER FOUNDRY—PARTNERSHIP
- CHAPTER XII FREE TRADE IN ABILITY—THE STRIKE—DEATH OF MY FATHER
- CHAPTER XIII MY MARRIAGE—THE STEAM HAMMER
- CHAPTER XIV TRAVELS IN FRANCE AND ITALY
- CHAPTER XV STEAM HAMMER PILE DRIVER
- CHAPTER XVI NUREMBERG—ST. PETERSBURG—DANNEMORA
- CHAPTER XVII MORE ABOUT BRIDGEWATER FOUNDRY—WOOLWICH ARSENAL
- CHAPTER XVIII ASTRONOMICAL PURSUITS
- CHAPTER XIX MORE ABOUT ASTRONOMY
- CHAPTER XX RETIREMENT FROM BUSINESS
- CHAPTER XXI ACTIVE LEISURE
- CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF INVENTIONS AND CONTRIVANCES
- SUN-RAY ORIGIN OF THE PYRAMIDS, AND CUNEIFORM CHARACTER
- INDEX
- Plate section
Summary
I had no difficulty in obtaining abundance of skilled workmen in South Lancashire and Cheshire. I was in the neighbourhood of Manchester, which forms the centre of a population gifted with mechanical instinct. From an early period the finest sort of mechanical work has been turned out in that part of England. Much of the talent is inherited. It descends from father to son, and develops itself from generation to generation. I may mention one curious circumstance connected with the pedigree of Manchester: that much of the mechanical excellence of its workmen descends from the Norman smiths and armourers introduced into the neighbourhood at the Norman Conquest by Hugo de Lupus, the chief armourer of William the Conqueror, after the battle of Hastings, in 1060.
I was first informed of this circumstance by William Stubbs of Warrington, then maker of the celebrated “Lancashire files.” The “P. S.,” or Peter Stubbs's files, were so vastly superior to other files, both in the superiority of the steel and in the perfection of the cutting, which long retained its efficiency, that every workman gloried in the possession and use of such durable tools. Being naturally interested in everything connected with tools and mechanics, I was exceedingly anxious to visit the factory where these admirable files were made.
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- James Nasmyth, EngineerAn Autobiography, pp. 214 - 232Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1883