Description
Book SynopsisThe British-American comparison further reveals differences owing to culture, regulation, and social structure as well as the unexpected transatlantic character of this seemingly localized business.
Trade ReviewSteam Laundries explores the permeable boundaries between technology and culture, home and work, and service and industry to develop an alternative perspective on the process of industrialization. Mohun's scholarship not only succeeds but also compels us to consider what lessons might be learned from other neglected industries. -- Nancy Page Fernandez Journal of American History Steam Laundries is an important contribution to our understanding of the gendered history of technology in Britain and the United States. -- Jay Kleinberg Times Literary Supplement Arwen Mohun has written a fascinating account of the rise, growth, and decline of a little-noticed industry... This is a significant book that advances scholarship on the relationship of technology, gender, and culture. -- Patricia Malcolmson Technology and Culture Steam Laundries represents a new generation of history of technology scholarship. -- Betsy Hunter Bradley Public Historian Mohun's book is not only a useful contribution to the revision of past histories, but a source of intellectual imagination for contemporary struggles as well. -- Jenrose Fitzgerald Journal of Women's History
