Although the West Riding of Yorkshire eventually came to dominate the English woollen industry, it never achieved absolute supremacy. A number of traditional centers have managed to survive, among them Witney in Oxfordshire which has specialized in blankets and whose leading firm is now the subject of an attractively produced if expensive history. The book falls into two distinct halves. The first describes the town's blanket industry up to the 1830's, ground already covered to some extent by Mr. Hummer's The Witney Blanket Industry (London, 1934) but which presents a fascinating picture of industrial survival based on a single, high-quality product. Changes in organization and technology in the face of strong competition from the Yorkshire industry were slow. The flying shuttle and power spinning did not reach Witney until the beginning of the nineteenth century, self-acting mules and power looms only after 1850. The transition from an industry of small-time clothiers regulated by a guild, itself chartered as late as 1711, to one controlled by joint-stock companies was equally protracted. The remainder of this work deals with the Early and Witney families which frequently intermarried and did business together. Beginning with Thomas Early, who was apprenticed to a blanket maker in 1669, the family dominated the local industry. They were invariably nonconformists, showing a paternalistic attitude to their workers which has continued down to the present day. They were also both fertile and long living; large families abounded and the majority of members exceeded "three score years and ten" with ease. The most dynamic appears to have been Charles Early (1824-1912), who turned a small family concern employing about seventy workers into a relatively large and modern firm. But the greatest changes have occurred during the reign of the present eighth generation. Following a series of heavy losses during the early 1950's, management consultants were called in, the first directors from outside the family appointed, new buildings erected, and modern machinery installed (including some for the revolutionary fiberweaving process which involved the use of synthetic fibres). In 1960, the Earlys finally merged their firm with that of the Marriots while in 1963 Courtaulds purchased 20 per cent of the share capital. The company is now the largest blanket manufacturer in Britain, a fitting way to celebrate its tercentenary. Despite a worthwhile subject, this work has a number of weaknesses which may arise from lack of information, though no indication is given of what records have survived. Most serious is the failure to deal adequately with such quantitative matters as profit and loss, volume of output, wages and costs of production, and size of work force. Indeed, the

The Blanket Makers, 1669–1969: A History of Charles Early and Marriot (Witney) Ltd. By Alfred Plummer and Richard E. Early. New York, Augustus M. Kelley, 1969. Pp. xii + 205. $12.50. - Volume 44 Issue 3