Historic New Lanark: The Dale and Owen Industrial Community since 1785 (Edinburgh Classic Editions)

New Lanark, the former cotton spinning village, is known as the pioneer of technological and social change in the Industrial Revolution. This new edition traces the community's history from its conception as a centre of mass production in 1785 to its present day standing as a World Heritage Site and beyond. Beginning with New Lanark's early development under its creator, the banker and textile entrepreneur, David Dale (1739-1806), this classic text looks at the social conditions of the mainly migrant workforce recruited to the village, and especially at the use of child labour from the cities. Detailing Robert Owen's social and educational experiments at New Lanark (1813-1825), it describes how the community became a showpiece around the world for his "New System" of society. After Owen's departure for New Harmony in Indiana, the book charts the relative decline of the mills under a succession of owners.

The Edinburgh Classic Editions series publishes influential works from the archive in context for a contemporary audience. These works shifted boundaries on first publication and are considered essential groundings in their disciplines. New introductions from contemporary scholars explain the cultural and intellectual heritage of these classic editions to a new generation of readers.