This book fills a large gap in the literature of economic history. Its four main themes are the history of an industry, of a firm, of an entrepreneur and of a county town. Linoleum, as the most prosaic of products, has never aroused the interest of aesthetes or even of historians. In the lowness of its profile 'lino' may well be compared to such other wares as ready-made clothing, wallpaper and convenience foodstuffs. The Dictionary of National Biography excluded from the national pantheon both Frederick Walton (1833-1928), who in 1863 invented linoleum, and James Williamson (1842-1930), who became its largest manufacturer. Now Dr Gooderson has redressed the balance of historiography in a biography which deals with both the businessman and the politician. He has set a basic commodity in a clear historical perspective and redeemed it from the enormous condescension of posterity. Oilcloth proved to be a consumer good of immense value to the urban masses building homes in Victorian Britain. Its diffusion made domestic interiors attractive as well as respectable, raised standards of comfort and hygiene and lightened the workload of housewives. It became a pioneer agent of the 'Do It Yourself' movement, a symbol of a rising standard of living and an index of aspirations towards a better life.

James Williamson I (1813-79) began to make table-baize during the 1840s and as a small manufacturer laid the foundations upon which his son built. The labour-intensive process of manufacture of oilcloth used low-level technology and remained highly secretive. A range of imported ingredients, including...