Inventing the U.S. stove industry, c. 1815-1875: making and selling the first universal consumer durable

Harris, Howell John

Abstract

This article examines the emergence of the American stove industry, detailing the complex interactions among changes in the product, the organization of production, and the methods of selling cast-iron heating and cooking equipment to consumers nationwide, particularly in the antebellum years. This highly competitive industry, composed of hundreds of proprietary firms, became a site of considerable innovation in marketing. Manufacturers integrated forward, controlling the sale and distribution of their goods through networks of small retailers nationwide. The article explains how and why.

Citation

Harris, H. J. (2008). Inventing the U.S. stove industry, c. 1815-1875: making and selling the first universal consumer durable. Business History Review, 82(4), 701-733. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007680500063170

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2008
• Deposit Date: Jan 10, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 27, 2013
• Journal: Business History Review
• Print ISSN: 0007-6805
• Electronic ISSN: 2044-768X
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 82
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 701-733
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007680500063170
• Keywords: Stoves, Consumer durables, Distribution networks.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1527159
• Publisher URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1353442