Carol Siri Johnson

Abstract

In 1770, the engineer Robert Erskine toured England, Wales and Scotland to collect knowledge about the iron industry. During this tour, he wrote a series of letters detailing the materials, processes and products that he saw. He described blast furnaces, blowing engines, forges, foundries and casting, and steel works. Erskine brought these letters with him to America in 1771, where he had
been employed to manage an ironworks begun by Peter Hasenclever in 1764. The introduction includes a brief biography of Erskine and a description of his tour and correspondence and is followed by a transcription of the letters.

##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.details##

Keywords
References
Coley N G 2004, ‘George Fordyce (1736–1802)’, Dictionary of National Biography, part 20, Oxford, 358–360.
Hasenclever P 1970 edn, The Remarkable Case of Peter Hasenclever, Merchant, London 1773, reprinted by the North Jersey Highlands Historical Society, Ringwood NJ.
Hayman R 2005, Ironmaking: the history and archaeology of the iron industry, Stroud.
Heusser A H 1966 edn, George Washington’s Map Maker: A Biography of Robert Erskine, 1928, edited by Hubert G. Schmidt, New Brunswick NJ.
Lachman D C 2004, ‘Erskine, Ralph (1686–1752)’, Dictionary of National Biography, part 18, Oxford, 562–564.
Williams P N 1994, ‘David Thomas, father of the American anthracite industry’, Historical Metallurgy 28 (1), 27–32.
How to Cite
Robert Erskine’s letters of 1770 about the British iron and steel industry. (2021). Historical Metallurgy, 43(2), 75-97. https://www.hmsjournal.org/index.php/home/article/view/165
Section
Articles

How to Cite

Robert Erskine’s letters of 1770 about the British iron and steel industry. (2021). Historical Metallurgy, 43(2), 75-97. https://www.hmsjournal.org/index.php/home/article/view/165