ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURES IN CHEMISTRY: THE MUSPRATTS OF LIVERPOOL, 17931934
Science, Technology and Culture, 17001945
Series Editors
Robert M. Brain
The University of British Columbia, Canada
and
Ernst Hamm
York University, Canada
Science, Technology and Culture, 17001945 focuses on the social, cultural, industrial and economic contexts of science and technology from the scientific revolution up to the Second World War. Publishing lively, original, innovative research across a broad spectrum of subjects and genres by an international list of authors, the series has a global compass that concerns the development of modern science in all regions of the world. Subjects may range from close studies of particular sciences and problems to cultural and social histories of science, technology and biomedicine; accounts of scientific travel and exploration; transnational histories of scientific and technological change; monographs examining instruments, their makers and users; the material and visual cultures of science; contextual studies of institutions and of individual scientists, engineers and popularizers of science; and well-edited volumes of essays on themes in the field.
Also in the series
Science Policies and Twentieth-Century Dictatorships
Spain, Italy and Argentina
Edited by Amparo Gmez, Antonio Fco. Canales and Brian Balmer
From Local Patriotism to a Planetary Perspective
Impact Crater Research in Germany, 1930s1970s
Martina Klbl-Ebert
Francis Watkins and the Dollond Telescope Patent Controversy
Brian Gee, edited by Anita McConnell and A.D. Morrison-Low
Entrepreneurial Ventures in Chemistry: The Muspratts of Liverpool, 17931934
PETER REED
First published 2015 by Ashgate Publishing
Published 2016 by Routledge
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Copyright Peter Reed 2015
Peter Reed has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Reed, Peter, 1942-
Entrepreneurial ventures in chemistry : the Muspratts of Liverpool, 17931934 / by Peter Reed.
pages cm. -- (Science, technology and culture, 17001945)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4724-4978-8 (hardcover) -- ISBN 978-1-3155-7990-0 (ebook) -- ISBN 978-1-3171-4262-1 (epub) 1. Muspratt, James, 1793-1886--Family. 2. Chemical industry--England--Liverpool--History. 3. Businesspeople--England--Liverpool--History. 4. Liverpool (England)--Biography. 5. Great Britain--History. I. Title.
HD9652.5.M87R44 2015
338.7660092242753--dc23
2015007932
ISBN 9781472449788 (hbk)
ISBN 9781315579900 (ebk-PDF)
ISBN 9781317142621 (ebk-ePUB)
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
Since this book has had such a long gestation there are inevitably many people and institutions to acknowledge and thank for their assistance. My greatest thanks go to the late David Muspratt who I first met in 1980 when he visited Liverpool Museum to consult some archives relating to the Muspratt family. Our regular discussions and meetings, always with his generous hospitality and sense of humour, sustained our friendship. His own research on the family was considerable, and even though he was from the Hampshire side of the family rather than the Liverpool branch, he was always ready to share the vast amount of information he had gathered over very many years. In all probability the book would not have come about without his valuable support and encouragement. Unfortunately David died before the book was published but I am pleased to dedicate it to him in the hope he would be pleased with the final result and felt it did justice to the Muspratt family name.
Other members of the Muspratt family, Jenny Thomas (Sydney), Graham Muspratt and Georgette Smith, have also been unstinting with their time and interest, and have given generously of their hospitality on many occasions. Again, I am most grateful for their support and hope they feel the book provides a worthwhile and appropriate commentary on the remarkable members of their family.
The early research benefitted from a Leverhulme Trust research grant and from discussions with Mike Greatbatch who was working on a feasibility project in Widnes that would later lead to the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre. It was at this stage that the idea of writing a book on the Muspratt family began to take shape.
The staff of many record offices have provided untiring assistance locating documents relating to the Muspratt family and then arranging for me to consult them. I am especially grateful to Roger Hull and the staff at the Liverpool Record Office (Muspratt Papers and Bryson Collection), and to staff at Cheshire Archives and Local Studies (Archives of Imperial Chemical Industries and United Alkali Company). Others include Flintshire Record Office (Muspratt family records), Lancashire Record Office (Rowson and Cross Papers) and Dublin Record Office.
The staff of many libraries and institutions helped to make a large number of books and documents available at various stages of the research and writing. These include: Birmingham Central Library, British Library, Brotherton Library (University of Leeds), Historical Society of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) (Cadwalader Papers), The John Rylands University Library, Mitchell Library (Sydney) (King Papers), National Library of Ireland, Princeton University Library (Cruikshank Papers), Royal Institution of Great Britain, Science Museum Library, The Royal College of Physicians, The Royal College of Surgeons of England, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library (Cruikshank Papers), The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London, Wellcome Library, University of Liverpool Library, University of Strathclyde Library and Widnes Library. I am grateful to them all for their assistance over many years. Paul Meara at the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre (Widnes) has been very supportive, answering queries on the chemical industry and locating illustrations.
I am especially indebted to the Librarian and staff of the London Library (and associated support from the Carlyle Trust), whose prompt service dispatching books to my home saved much time and allowed the research and writing to continue with minimum delay.
Without realizing it, many people who have asked questions at seminars and conferences featuring the Muspratts and their ventures have helped to shape this book. I also acknowledge others who have shared their specialist knowledge during more informal discussions over many years and I am especially grateful to Anna Simmons, Bill Brock, Charles Mollan, Ernst Homburg and Tony Travis for their helpful suggestions on different themes in the book. I am very grateful to Tony for making time available from his busy schedule to read most of the draft chapters and for his comments and corrections that have resulted in a better book. Nevertheless, any errors in the final version are solely my responsibility as author.
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