Wuppertal was an important economic region in the eighteenth century. Its main products were bleached linen yarn, twine, ribbon goods, linen cloths, and linen-cotton fabrics. Wuppertal's goods were sold commercially to markets as far away as the Americas. Indeed, today the entire region of the Bergisches Land is considered by historians to have been a driving force of proto-industrialization. “Almost all overviews of proto-industrialization include the Bergisches Land as an important example of a proto-industrial center” (16). In spite of its historical standing, until now there has been no comprehensive study of Wuppertal's mercantile ties. In this sense, Anne Sophie Overkamp's monograph is a pioneering work, offering a comprehensive, richly sourced, detailed, and impressive study.
The book focuses on four Wuppertal merchant families on the threshold between the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries and the question of how these merchant families, and thus Wuppertal, were involved in the “long-term, multi-layered, and increasingly global process of commercialization” (10). Moreover, the book asks what effect this period of transformation had on the group of merchants themselves and examines how the group changed. The author concludes that “the Wuppertal merchant families can only be adequately understood as an integral part of a newly forming social group, . . . the ‘educated classes’” (11-12). In addition to the focus on economic history, the author is correspondingly interested in the social and cultural history of the lives of the merchant families and wishes to contribute to a “more comprehensive understanding of the ‘educated classes’” (12). As Overkamp emphasizes, this focus stands in contrast to other comparable works, in which merchants do not feature prominently, unlike teachers, civil servants, or professors. This, however, should not give the impression that the book aims to be a comparison of these social groups. Rather, the focus is on the study of the merchant families and their particularities.
In accordance with the author's twofold interest, the work is divided into two parts, the first of which is more concerned with economic history, the second with social history. Nevertheless, both parts are “drawn together through cultural history” (16). Thus, the author's study, which I would ultimately summarize as a socio-historical study, follows in the tradition of works by Stefan Gorißen in socio-economic history, as well as Rudolf Vierhaus in relation to research on the middle classes. The book also borrows from microhistorical studies. Last but not least, the author places herself in the cultural-historical tradition of authors such as Rebekka Habermas. With her focus on the Wuppertal families, the author succeeds in shaping this admittedly demanding undertaking and no less elaborate program into a readable and stringent monograph. The book's origins as a substantial dissertation are also evident in its depth, thoroughness, and admittedly also its length.
The book is methodologically well thought-out; research discussions are given ample space. The source work is detailed, making the years of research behind it unmissable. Indeed, working with the firm and family archives of the four families, Frowein, Eynern, Bredt, and Wuppermann, which serve as a scholarly source basis for the first time ever, must have been immensely time-consuming. Luckily, the effort is mirrored in the results the book presents. It offers a broad panorama of economic-historical and socio-cultural insights into the world of Wuppertal in the long eighteenth century, ranging from the process of bleaching, to the company histories, to information on textiles or dyes such as cochineal, to the handling of conflicts or typical educational courses, to the houses or the merchant families’ gardens. Overkamp demonstrates impressively with every fibre of the book: “Economic action can only be understood as social action” (185).
I would, however, add the slight criticism that, due to its aforementioned origins, the book still bears some marks of its genesis. For instance, it still contains many phrases or justifications which are standard for a qualification thesis. However, such markings disturb the flow of a monograph, so that it is a shame that they could not have been weeded out. This is only lamentable because, other than these vestiges of formality, the book provides many innovative insights. The author herself rightly notes that the “research landscape on proto-industrialization . . . is almost insurmountable” (17). This gives rise to the question: Why, then, is there a need for another such study? And why on Wuppertal?
Overkamp provides several answers throughout her chapters. On the one hand, the Wuppertal merchant families were characterized by their locality. While other merchants (e.g., of the Hanseatic cities) were often abroad, Wuppertalers remained in the region, but nevertheless acted globally from the region. There was often a “unity of company and family” (263, 418). While double-entry bookkeeping was introduced in many parts of the world, the Wuppertalers stuck to single-entry bookkeeping but were still able to keep up with the world market. Overkamp also presents the special religiosity of Pietist merchants. Moreover, I was particularly convinced by the focus on women's education in the commercial field of Wuppertal, which was tantamount to an “equal status of education” with men (220). Last but not least, the structural peculiarities in Wuppertal are intriguing, as elsewhere (e. g., in Hamburg). Burgher houses became the rule with access to the thatched canal – in Wuppertal, in turn, it was the Bergische burgher house which adapted to local conditions, e. g., through the typical slate cladding. At that time, as in most of Europe, furniture made of mahogany also found its place in these houses. Reading the latter information gave me, as someone who has worked on Hamburg merchants, the idea that it would be apt to publish an anthology of comparisons between merchant families in different regions of Europe. Several studies on similar firms in Amsterdam, Silesia, or Ostend are currently in the works. A cultural-historical comparison between these merchant groups would be a worthwhile undertaking. When books such as Anne Sophie Overkamp's inspire outlines for new books, that is always a good indication of the high quality of the work at hand.
