I'm familiar with the "early" sources for iron manufacturing
technology- Pirotechnia (Biringuccio), De Re Metallica (Agricola),
Diderot, etc.. John Percy is generally accepted as the source for the
mid 1800s. Until the mid 1800s the number of published sources are
pretty manageable. But after that there are lots. Are there any that
are recognized as having the same level of acceptance as Percy?
The reason I ask is that I hope I will be doing a thematic study of
the iron industry of Virginia (1620-1920). I have a pretty good
handle on both the technology and the players during the 17/18C. I
have not spent nearly as much time on the 19C, and none on the early
20C. As this is supposed to be short and succinct, I would like to
limit the amount of reading I need to do, without sacrificing accuracy.
Thanks
James H. Brothers IV, RPA
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