Search Results: the life of george stephenson railway by smiles samuel 1812 1904

London:: John Murray, 1860., 1860. 8vo. x, 356, 32 pp. 40 engravings incl. frontis. port., ads (dated January 1860). Original blind- and gilt-stamped dark green cloth. Early presentation inscription; embossed stamp of Charles Monk, Bookseller & printer, Oswestry. Near fine. Tenth Thousand.

London:: John Murray, 1857., 1857. 8vo. xvi, 528, [ads] 12 pp. Engraved frontis. port.; port. foxed. Original blind- and gilt-stamped plum cloth; corners bumped. Bookplate of Jethro Hornblower. Very good. Second edition. DNB, XVIII, pp. 1070-1074. Stephenson was a civil and mechanical engineer, regarded as the "Father of Railways" by his contemporaries. Born to illiterate working class parents, Stephenson rise to prominence through study and hard work was often cited as an example of class mobility in the early Victorian era. Indeed, this was the source of Smiles' primary interest in the engineer—he saw Stephenson as proof of his theory that poverty was largely caused by the irresponsibility of the poor. – DNB, XVIII, pp. 1070-74.