Brown & Sharpe and the Measure of American Industry - by Gerald M Carbone & Rhode Island Historical Society (Paperback)

About the Book

"Brown & Sharpe employees produced and marketed measuring devices, machine tools and precision machinery, and helped shape Rhode Island, the nation and the modern world. The history of Brown & Sharpe contains the story of the Industrial Revolution in America, covering more than 150 years of technological development, labor history and public policy, culminating in history's longest strike"--

Book Synopsis

Joseph Brown, founder of Brown & Sharpe, was a skilled clockmaker who invented new machines, and new ways to make things. Samuel Darling, an eccentric inventor from Maine, joined up and brought with him his engine for marking precise graduations on measuring instruments. Lucian Sharpe, with his son Henry and grandson Henry, Jr., guided the company for more than a century--and along with it the global machine tools industry.

The men and women of Brown & Sharpe produced and marketed a dazzling array of measuring devices, machine tools and precision machinery. They truly helped shape Rhode Island, the nation and the modern world. The history of Brown & Sharpe covers more than 150 years of technological development, labor history and public policy, culminating in history's longest strike.

Review Quotes

"solid, well-researched, detailed history"-Providence Journal; "the most important Rhode Island history book of the year. Despite the author's background of writing from the labor point of view, Joseph Brown's descendants nonetheless allowed [Carbone] unfettered access to write the complete, accurate, and unvarnished truth of their family company. The decision was an excellent one, as [he] has created a fine and balanced book...excellent book"-Online Review of Rhode Island History; "comprehensive history of one of Rhode Island's leading manufacturers and employers. Carbone tells its story in an easy readable fashion, with photos from the archives adding to the account"-Cranston Herald.

About the Author

Gerald M. Carbone completed a John S. Knight Fellowship at Stanford University, and earned a master's degree in public humanities at Brown University. This is his third book. He lives in Warwick, Rhode Island.