Technology and Culture

TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 603 Textile History. Vol. 6. Edited by K. G. Ponting and S. D. Chapman. Edington, Wiltshire: Pasold Research Fund, Ltd., 1975. Pp. 176; illustrations. Subscription: £3.00 per annum. Volume 6 of Textile History exhibits both the admirable and the not-so-admirable qualities of a journal which is underwritten by a wealthy businessman whose hobby is textile history. This issue, like the previous three, is printed on high-quality glossy paper, features a first-rate cover illustration, is set in an attractive and legible typeface, and contains no less than two dozen illustrations which complement the text. It is a handsome periodical. On the other hand, one notes the cover illustration is of a knitted Alsacian carpet owned by E. W. Pasold, founder and chairman of the Pasold Research Fund, Ltd., which publishes Textile History. Inside, one discovers the lead article, “In Search of William Lee” (pp. 7-17), is written by the very same E. W. Pasold, who claims that “mankind owes even more to William Lee, the inventor of the stocking frame, than it does to his famous contemporary, William Shakespeare” (p. 7). In his essay, Pasold, founder, chairman, publisher, and author, dis­ cusses his family history, his autobiography, and the story of his search for William Lee. He then announces the discovery of “the earliest authentic record of our hero” (p. 12), an indenture dated June 6, 1600, which is reproduced as the concluding portion of his article. Other articles in this issue treat hand-frame knitting, dyeing tech­ niques, textile printing, weaving technology, and medieval silk. In addition to observing the unusual degree of involvement by the publisher, the reader of volume 6 also discovers that the editors con­ tribute fully half of the book reviews. After eight years, one would assume, the editors should have been able to call on any number of colleagues for this essential and important task. It is also remarkable to note that one of the editors is coauthor of the review of periodical literature; but for an administrative delay, he assures us, he would have coauthored an article (it is promised for the next issue). Should not editors edit the work of others than attempt to write virtually all the articles and reviews for their own journals? Two of the books reviewed in this issue, incidentally, were published by the Pasold Re­ search Fund. Not surprisingly, the books are favorably reviewed, and the reader is left wondering whether they could have been reviewed in any other light. Other books published by the fund were favorably reviewed in earlier issues, as were books published by the editors. Surely the respective roles of publisher and editor need to be reex­ amined if this journal is to gain academic credibility. One positive measure toward that end would be to change the present members of the Editorial Advisory Panel, whose composition has not changed significantly in eight years. Young scholars with an international perspective—persons like David J. Jeremy of Essex and Theodore Z. Penn of Old Sturbridge Village (U.S.A.)—would undoubtedly apply 604 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE the same rigorous scholarly standards to the work of others that they demand of themselves. And there must be textile historians in France and Germany who would bring new strength to this potentially im­ portantjournal. If publisher and editors seem to be needlessly omnipresent, au­ thors, on the other hand, appear to have been asked to make them­ selves as inconspicuous as possible. Unlike the readers of Technology and Culture, the readers of Textile History are given no clue as to the institutional affiliation or previous work of the authors of articles and reviews. The editors owe their contributors that bit of recognition, which would also assist the reader in evaluating the author’s point of view. The usefulness of thejournal would also be improved if it were indexed periodically; the last index was prepared in 1970. In the initial issue, the editor expressed the hope (p. 1) that a new journal would “provide a useful place” for the publication ofthe work of “young historians.” Articles in economic history, art, design, and the history of technology were...