By 1900, Worcester was home to the largest Swedish population in the eastern United States. These new residents brought an innovative and unique spirit to the community. Industrialist John Jeppson invented an artificial emery stone, and his experiments in the abrasives field became the foundation of the Norton Company. Worcester welcomed Swedish immigrants who preserved traditions through various lodges, church congregations and Swedish-owned businesses like Holstrom's Market, Lundborg's and Crown Bakery. Fairlawn Hospital and the Lutheran Home were other mainstays that marked the Swedes' local presence. Author Eric J. Salomonsson explores how Worcester's Swedish immigrants became Swedish-Americans while making vital and vibrant contributions to their adopted city.

This volume presents for the first time an edited version of Harold D. Woodbury's «Notes on the History of Woodbury & Company, Inc.» This history offers a fascinating glimpse into the workings of a family firm that emerged as the largest commercial engraver in central New England in the 1890s. The company specialized in Bird's-Eye-Views of factories and industrial buildings, large numbers of which graced the walls of boardrooms and executive suites in the Northeast and throughout North America. A notable success for the company, in addition to its excellence in engraved letterheads, was its series of First Day Covers, pictorial impressions of commemorative stamps. The introduction to this volume focuses on printing and printing-related businesses in Worcester, Massachusetts: their founders, contributions to technological innovation, and contributions to New England's workforce.

Using an innovative framework, this reader examines the most important and influential writings on modern class relations. Uses an interdisciplinary approach that combines scholarship from political economy, social history, and cultural studies Brings together more than 50 selections rich in theory and empirical detail that span the working, middle, and capitalist classes Analyzes class within the larger context of labor, particularly as it relates to conflicts over and about work Provides insight into the current crisis in the global capitalist system, including the Occupy Wall Street Movement, the explosion of Arab Spring, and the emergence of class conflict in China