The Skilled Compositor, 1850-1914 by Patrick Duffy

The Skilled Compositor, 1850-1914 by Patrick Duffy

For the first time since its invention over 500 years ago, the print medium is being challenged as the primary means of recording and communicating ideas. Indeed, within the printing industry itself the advent of digital technology has rendered the craft of hand setting metal type obsolete - the days of the skilled compositor are now at an end. Patrick Duffy's work sets out to examine the experiences of the skilled compositor in the period 1850 to 1914. Focusing primarily on the workplace and the workplace institutions, it aims to explore issues of control, co-operation and conflict in order to determine if the compositor did, as many labour historians claim, belong to an aristocracy of labour. Drawing on a wide range of source material from trade society minutes to Parliamentary Papers, the author explores the diversity of experience that compositors had in the workplace and the uneven patterns of change that the trade experienced. The study throws light on some of the issues raised by these changes: what part did ancient craft traditions play in the maintenance of control in the workplace? Why were women excluded from this particular work when they were accepted in most other parts of the trade? To what extent did trade society officials represent the aspirations of the rank and file membership? Starting with an overview of the nature, growth and development of the trade, the book goes on to examine the occupational and social aspects of the compositors' experience, with a chapter devoted to women's role in the printing trade. Finally, the formation, functions and development of relevant trades unions and employers' associations is discussed. This insightful analysis of the experience of the skilled compositor provides a valuable case study for labour historians at the same time furthering our understanding of a somewhat neglected aspect of printing history.

'Duffy has produced a book of painstaking research, with a remarkable breadth, combining business, labour and social history in fine style' Business History '... a very useful and convincing study. Both compositors and historians have been well-served.' Albion '... whatever your specialty, you have several good reasons to read Patrick Duffy's study of nineteenth-century compositors... an exceptionally detailed empirical study...' Victorian Studies 'A welcome study of the economic and social identity of British compositors in the second half of the nineteenth century, Duffy's book provides a detailed and sympathetic survey of the workplace experiences of this segment of the printing industry.' Journal of the Printing Historical Society

Duffy, Patrick: - Patrick Duffy starred in The Man from Atlantis in 1976-7. Although raised in Montana, he was trained with SCUBA by his sister, a professional diver. He then went on to pursue his theatrical career. After The Man from Atlantis he spent 13 years on TV's Dallas and then 7 years on Step by Step.

But Duffy never forgot his desire to fill in the missing pieces of Mark Harris's life. After moving to his Oregon ranch in 2001 he used his down time to write the first of his Man from Atlantis books. Not needing to confine his imagination to the special effects limitations of the 1970's he has fleshed out an incredible life history of not just Mark Harris but of his entire Atlantean race.

You can connect with Patrick Duffy on Patrick Duffy .org or .com

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781138263390
ISBN 10	1138263397
Title	The Skilled Compositor, 1850-1914
Author	Patrick Duffy
Series	Modern Economic And Social History
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Routledge
Year published	2016-11-15
Number of pages	248
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.