The Archaeology of Improvement in Britain, 1750–1850

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Cambridge University Press, 2007 M04 30
In this innovative 2007 study, Sarah Tarlow shows how the archaeology of this period manifests a widespread and cross-cutting ethic of improvement. Theoretically informed and drawn from primary and secondary sources in a range of disciplines, the author considers agriculture and the rural environment, towns, and buildings such as working-class housing and institutions of reform. From bleach baths to window glass, rubbish pits to tea wares, the material culture of the period reflects a particular set of values and aspirations. Tarlow examines the philosophical and historical background to the notion of improvement and demonstrates how this concept is a useful lens through which to examine the material culture of later historical Britain.
 

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Contents

Section 1
34
Section 2
43
Section 3
45
Section 4
49
Section 5
56
Section 6
61
Section 7
67
Section 8
69
Section 9
77
Section 10
85
Section 11
86
Section 12
104
Section 13
107
Section 14
110
Section 15
124
Section 16
163

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Page 1 - Those who compare the age on which their lot has fallen with a golden age which exists only in then: imagination may talk of degeneracy and decay : but no man who is correctly informed as to the past will be disposed to take a morose or desponding view of the present.
Page 1 - Yet, unless I greatly deceive myself, the general effect of this ' chequered narrative will be to Excite thankfulness in all religious minds, and hope in the breasts of all patriots...

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