This third impression of the second edition was originally published in 1963, and in this classic study George Unwin attempted for the first time to bridge the gap between the economic development of medieval England and the England of the eighteenth century with a detailed study of the evolution and growth of the London Livery Companies and the early craft guilds. He discusses at length the various amalgamations of the crafts, the early joint-stock enterprises, protectionism under James I, and the early development of the Trade Union Movement. In his introduction, Professor T. S. Ashton shows the importance of this pioneer study in the light of the industrial development today of the newly emergent nations.

First Published in 1963. This book has grown up out of a piece of research planned by the author when a student in Berlin in 1898, and commenced to carry out as a student of the London School of Economics in the following year. An article published in the Economic Journal for September 1900, under the title, ‘ A Seventeenth¬ Century Trade Union’, which was the first outcome of this investigation. This work seeks to bridge over the gap which appeared to exist in industrial history between medieval England and the England of the eighteenth century.

Excerpt from Industrial Organization in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries Thlsbookhasgrownup outcfapieceofresearch whichlplannedasastudent ot'berlin in 1898, and com mencedtocarryout asastudent ofthelondon School of Economics in the following year. An article published in the Economic fowl ior September 1900, under the title A seventeenth cenmry Trade Union, ' which was the first outcome of this investigation, has, with the kind per. Missionoitheediwmbeenreproducedalmostinfullin Section 4 ofchapter VIII. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.