The Story of the Britannia Iron Works, William Marshall Sons & Co Gainsborough, by Michael R Lane

Book published by Quiller Press in 1993, 193 pages. Large Hardback with Dust Jacket - c.21.5cm by 30.5cm (A9UWSO)

From the front inside fly leaf: This famous engineering company was founded in 1848 by William Marshall, a millwright and native of Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. Shortly after his death in 1861 the company became incorporated and was successfully managed by his two sons, lames and Henry, for over fifty years. By 1916 annual sales exceeded £1 million and the company's products were well-known all over the world, especially in the developing coun­tries and in Eastern Europe. Throughout the 19th century their main activities may be classified under four headings:

*Portable steam engines and after 1876, traction engines.
*Threshing machines and agricultural machinery.
*Stationary steam engines and boilers up to 500 hp.
*Tea manufacturing machinery.

The First World War changed every­ thing. Many traditional markets were lost for ever and the internal combustion engine began to challenge the supremacy of the steam engine. In the 1920s Marshalls were in the very forefront of internal combustion engine tractor and stationary oil engine design in this country.

Since then the company has changed fortunes many times and is now known as Track Marshall as part of the exciting Tom Walkinshaw TWR Group concentrating on a revolutionary crawler tractor with rubber tracks.

The main thrust of Michael Lane's book is the definitive descriptive illustrations and detail of all the steam engines, tractors and other Marshall products over a period of nearly 150 years. With over 320 illustrations and with a text which has taken 5 years of research, Britannia Iron Works is a long overdue work of reference and enjoyment for the many thousands of enthusiasts, collectors and users throughout the world.

The condition of the book is generally very good. The dust jacket has one or two very minor scuffs and some light wear along the edges and corners, but the spine is tight and intact, and all pages are clean, intact, unblemished and tightly bound. Not price clipped.