In the tradition of the new economic history, this collection includes seven carefully researched papers blending systematic empirical research with consideration of broader theoretical and analytical issues. The volume begins with Andrew Godlcy's delineation of the global diffusion of the sewing machine: the world's first technically complex mass produced and mass marketed consumer good. His work, of interest to business as well as economic historians, contributes to the history of the modern business enterprise in general and multinational enterprise in particular. One of his more striking findings is the rapid penetration of the durable in regions generally considered less developed. Godlcy accounts for this diffusion, more rapid than would be predicted on the basis of relative income alone, with reference to social and demographic as well as other economic variables.