Progressive Enlightenment: The Origins of the Gaslight Industry, 1780-1820

摘要

In Progressive Enlightenment, Leslie Tomory presents a highly detailed description of the European origins of gas lighting. The concise narrative places the background and development of early gas-lighting experiments and ventures deeply within the context of the Industrial Revolution, with a nod to the recent work of Joel Mokyr that explores the influence of the Enlightenment on that era. Tomory then traces the process of designing the technology needed to establish stand-alone gas-light plants, followed by the development of urban gas-lighting networks. Currently a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at McGill University, Tomory based this well-researched book on his dissertation; he has also written other essays and articles on this subject (see, for example, "Building the First Gas Network, 1812-1820," Technology and Culture 52, no. 1 [2011]: 75-102).