A little-known invention that made obsolete a lot of child labour: the "scandiscope", invented by George Smart (1757ish – 1834), allowed an adult chimney sweep to avoid employing "climbing boys" as assistants. Words by @antonhowes.bsky.social:

Good morning. A terrific long read ahead of a long holiday weekend on the perils of wage & price controls drawn from the post Black Death UK. One thing I love about Bluesky is people on this site read & think. This is worthy of your time. www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

My latest post! On England's centuries of maximum wages (yes, you read that right), and how they led to a Lost Century of stagnant growth and a dwindling population, while the rest of Europe forged ahead. www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

My latest post! On England's centuries of maximum wages (yes, you read that right), and how they led to a Lost Century of stagnant growth and a dwindling population, while the rest of Europe forged ahead. www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

Long but cool read on the centuries-long process of inventing, forgetting, and reinventing coal briquettes www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

My latest post! In researching the history of coal, I stumbled across a puzzle that has baffled people for over four hundred years: why the coal briquette never became widely adopted in England. Now, finally, there is an answer! www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

My latest post! In researching the history of coal, I stumbled across a puzzle that has baffled people for over four hundred years: why the coal briquette never became widely adopted in England. Now, finally, there is an answer! www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

Does anyone know how to get in touch with the historian and antiquary Malcolm Thick? I've tried via various institutions he's associated with, but no reply from them.

Does anyone know how to get in touch with the historian and antiquary Malcolm Thick? I've tried via various institutions he's associated with, but no reply from them.

The sale is still on!

Woah, would you look at that! My book, ARTS & MINDS: How the Royal Society of Arts changed a Nation, is currently half price from the publishers - for just a few days only! press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...

Making pale ale cheaply and at scale was a major prize: a healthier, tastier, and more standardised drink, with major savings in terms of straw that could be better used for feeding cattle. But it was far easier said than done. See my latest post: www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

Making pale ale cheaply and at scale was a major prize: a healthier, tastier, and more standardised drink, with major savings in terms of straw that could be better used for feeding cattle. But it was far easier said than done. See my latest post: www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

Interesting blog on malt kilning and pale ales.

My latest post! On the long and winding quest to develop pale ale. Involving nefarious noblemen, a failed plot to raise illegal taxes, and the Dutch alchemist who invented the thermostat. www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

My latest post! On the long and winding quest to develop pale ale. Involving nefarious noblemen, a failed plot to raise illegal taxes, and the Dutch alchemist who invented the thermostat. www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

Had a lot of fun doing this. And just days after recording discovered some evidence I’d missed, confirming that Cornelis Drebbel’s perpetual motion worked the way I suspected, using expanding mercury to rewind its springs!

A new #EchoesofHistory is out covering the Age of Invention around England and the world in the time of #AssassinsCreedSyndicate. #HistoryHit @mattlewishistory.bsky.social speaks with @antonhowes.bsky.social in this packed episode. #AssassinsCreed @ubisoft.com open.spotify.com/episode/19KO...

💫 We’re launching the Centre for British Progress Our founding essay: Rediscovering British Progress is a case for growth that drives shared progress, rooted in Britain's values and industrial heritage. It all starts with a postcard from 1870 👇 britishprogress.org/articles/red...

@bho.bsky.social Hello, when will I be able to purchase a subscription again? I keep getting blocked by the paywall, and then told I am unable to pay to get past it. Could you please either release your paywalled stuff or fix subscriptions? Now that the archived site is down, this is impossible.

Such chutzpah ~ shortly after Caesar’s assassination, Brutus ordered this celebratory coin to be issued, with his own face on the front & reverse showing daggers, liberty cap & notation (= Ides of March). Sold for $4.2m, one of only 3 known gold examples www.numismaticnews.net/world-coins/...

In honour of international women’s day – was the motor car co-invented by a woman? And have we been robbing her of credit for 140 years? The story begins with a heist…

Been informed of a new article just published in *History of Science* by Candice Goucher, the historian & archaeologist who excavated Reeder's Pen in Jamaica. I remember some people asking what she thought, to settle the whole controversy. And she's unequivocal:

Been informed of a new article just published in *History of Science* by Candice Goucher, the historian & archaeologist who excavated Reeder's Pen in Jamaica. I remember some people asking what she thought, to settle the whole controversy. And she's unequivocal:

"London’s voracious appetite for coal did not start in the hearths of its homes. Instead, thanks to some enterprising Germans ..., it was instead first whet by ale and beer." Of course it was. Absolutely fascinating #longread. www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

This post should be at least one popular historical book and several movies www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

Why did coal, having been used in Britain for centuries, very suddenly take off in London in 1580-1600? I dove deep into the archives, unearthing a story *never* told before. It was thanks to German inventors, and through brewing, that coal really won. www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

Why did coal, having been used in Britain for centuries, very suddenly take off in London in 1580-1600? I dove deep into the archives, unearthing a story *never* told before. It was thanks to German inventors, and through brewing, that coal really won. www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

"The arrival of coal allowed deforestation, freeing up land for farms that had been previously used to grow firewood. The alternative story is London’s widespread adoption of chimneys and iron-backed hearths, but this doesn’t fit the timeline either." www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

For centuries, coal heated homes near the places it was dug. Then, suddenly, in the 1570s it was rapidly adopted by Londoners, unleashing massive ripples through the economy. Why? The answer involves religious refugees, German mercenaries, and beer www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

Another excellent historical investigation, by @antonhowes.bsky.social: Age of Invention: How Coal Really Won www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

For centuries, coal heated homes near the places it was dug. Then, suddenly, in the 1570s it was rapidly adopted by Londoners, unleashing massive ripples through the economy. Why? The answer involves religious refugees, German mercenaries, and beer www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

@antonhowes.bsky.social continues to trace the history of how coal rose to become the most prominent energy source. “By the 1590s, London’s consumption had expanded by eight- or even tenfold over what it had been in 1560, with the vast majority now burned in people’s homes.”

Help! Does anyone have Marcel Silberstein's article, 'Erfindungsschutz und merkantilistische Gewerbeprivilegien', in Staatswissenschaftliche Studien (1961)? Impossible for me to find a copy, and I only need to see one or two pages!

The big quiz-reveal! And our quiz-winner is @francesowen.bsky.social with 7 correct answers and runner up @antonhowes.bsky.social with 6. Congratulations! 🏆💐🍾🥂🎂 The answers: -Emrods – Haemorrhoids -Evriang – Eringo (sea holly root) ctd...

When @antonhowes.bsky.social publishes his book in 2098 (the lack of promptness is for the noblest of reasons), I believe it will be the first narrative (as opposed to topic-based) long-run economic history of England since Pollard & Crossley's forgotten & forgettable 1968 book covering 1000-1960s

This is an extremely important role with huge shoes to fill, for someone who lives to organise and is hungry for a challenge - to head up the archive of the Royal Society of Arts. I hope people will apply: careers.rsa.org.uk/job/636625

I have made a UK growth & progress starter pack! Let me know if you want to be added, or if I have missed anyone. go.bsky.app/2AGSHqi

This is an extremely important role with huge shoes to fill, for someone who lives to organise and is hungry for a challenge - to head up the archive of the Royal Society of Arts. I hope people will apply: careers.rsa.org.uk/job/636625

What do we find? Unlike workers who were paid by the day, wage levels for these labourers employed on an annual basis did not rise until more than 20 years after the Black Death. This means that a whole generation of workers who survived the plague did not experience any rise in remuneration.

Crime follows a power law. Put simply, most crime is caused by career criminals. Yet, our sentencing system too often lets prolific offenders off easily.

English pronunciations of the counties, through the ears of a Pomeranian knight visiting in 1584:

A lot of my research lately has been about the effects of switching from near-constant deflation/stagnation to continuous and quite high inflation - as took place in 1540s England. Economists, am I right in thinking that you'd see rising time preference? More spending on transitory consumption?

The UK lost its woods not because fuel wood was scarce and expensive but because coal was abundant and cheap. A well-argued case here. www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

Help! Any ideas what the underlined says? These be the artificial? commodities which I Peter Jordanus together with my adherents or -ad-toz by the permission of God do promise to accomplish and perform for the common wealth of this realm of England

Fascinating essay by @antonhowes.bsky.social. On how coal denuded the English landscape of woods and hedgerows - because coal became cheap, it displaced the need for firewood, and it was more profitable to turn woodland over to agriculture. www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

Britain, they say, was running out of trees, so in the sixteenth century switched to using coal. But this story is not only wrong, it’s completely back-to-front. www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...

Britain, they say, was running out of trees, so in the sixteenth century switched to using coal. But this story is not only wrong, it’s completely back-to-front. www.ageofinvention.xyz/p/age-of-inv...