MILL'D LEAD DEMONSTRATED to be a better and more durable covering for buildings &c. and above 20 per cent cheaper than cast-lead can be; supposing that to be 16s and this by 13s. a hundred. And also for sheathing ships against the worm, better [inserted in MS: than the best] and above cent. per cent cheaper than the ordinariest wood-sheathing can be.

HALE, Charles or Thomas.

Edité par colophon: London: Printed November 20, 1695

A propos de cet article

Folio (295 x 195mm), pp. 4; with manuscript additions on p. 1 and 4, probably authorial; cut close in inner margin for folding, just touching the text on the verso of the first leaf; somewhat creased but quite complete; disbound. Exceptionally rare: a significant example of 17th century advertising for a new industrial product. This is a four-page folio flyer for the Milled Lead Company of London, describing in some detail the superiority of milled that is rolled lead for roof coverings and sheathing for ships, as against the traditional cast lead, together with details of costs and suppliers. It is stated that the company proposed the use of milled lead to the Navy Board in 1678, and that it had tested and approved the idea. There is a longish account of the Antelope, a merchant ship of 600 tons 'imployed in His Majesty's Service this last Summer', whose lead sheathing was inspected on her return to dock and found to be in excellent condition. On the other hand, the rudder irons were found to be severely corroded, which the shipwrights blamed on the lead, although Hale insisted that it was the quality of the ironwork that was at fault. The cause of the problem might have been electrolytic corrosion: it would not have been identified until a later age, but at the time it resulted in an acrimonious dispute between producer and consumer. In the course of the advertisement a 'small book lately published, treating (amongst other new Inventions and Improvements) of the Mill'd-Lead for Sheathing Ships, &c.' is mentioned: this could be Thomas Hale's Account of several new inventions and improvements now necessary for England (1691). Although de Caus mentions a hand-operated rolling-mill in 1615, it was not until later in the century that heavier water and horse-powered mills made the widespread use of rolled lead practical and economic in England (History of Technology III 45). The development did not spread abroad at all quickly: as late as 1731 Remond de St-Albin noted that it was still a novelty in France. It looks as though there were two Hales: they could have been brothers, or father and son. There are numerous pieces of the 1690s by Charles Hale on the same subject, but at least one other (Wing H266A) is signed 'Tho. Hale', and this present piece has long been attributed to him, although no Christian name, or even initial, is to be found in the text. The address for 'Mr. Hale' (no plural is acknowledged) is 'at the Mill'd-Lead Sign in Aurange-street [i.e. Orange St] by Red-Lion-Square'; but the place of business was 'at the Lead-Mill at Deptford clearly more convenient for a business needing water, and supplying the navy and merchant fleet. Wing H265B. ESTC locates six copies (BL, Cambridge and Senate House in the UK, and Folger, Harvard and Huntington in the US). There are several contemporary MS corrections and additions on the first and last pages: these are clearly authorial, as they are also found in the copy reproduced on EEBO. This piece was distributed gratis at Hale's house, at his Lead Mill, and at a number of bookshops mentioned on p. 4 Hensman in Westminster Hall, Dring in Fleet St, at the Harp in St Paul's Churchyard, and at the Leg and Star over against the Royal Exchange.

N° de réf. du vendeur 23746

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: MILL'D LEAD DEMONSTRATED to be a better and more durable covering for buildings &c. and above 20 per cent cheaper than cast-lead can be; supposing that to be 16s and this by 13s. a hundred. And also for sheathing ships against the worm, better [inserted in MS: than the best] and above cent. per cent cheaper than the ordinariest wood-sheathing can be.
• Éditeur: colophon: London: Printed November 20
• Date de parution: 1695
• Signé: Signé par l'auteur
• Catalogues du vendeur:
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