Book description
The story of the 19th-century ice trade, in which ice from the lakes of
New England - valued for its incredible purity - revolutionised domestic
life around the world.
In the days before artificial refrigeration, it was thought impossible
to transport ice for long distances. But one man, Frederic Tudor, was
convinced it could be done. This is the story of how, almost
single-handedly, and in the face of near-universal mockery, he
established a vast industry that would introduce the benefits of fresh
ice to large parts of the globe.
Thanks to Tudor, the American fashion for drinks 'on the rocks' spread
to tropical areas such as the West Indies and British India. By the
1830s fleets of schooners carried the frozen cargo, packed with sawdust
and tarpaulins for insulation, to all corners of the world. The
harvesting of the ice from New England's lakes employed thousands of men.
The frozen water trade had a profound influence on the tastes of a
large part of the world, but with the development of artificial cooling
systems in the first quarter of the 20th century, the huge industry
established by Frederic Tudor vanished as if it had never been.
Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content
that appeared in the original print version. Gavin Weightman is an
experienced television documentary-maker (producer/director/writer),
journalist and author of many books such as The Making of Modern London:
1815-1914, The Making of Modern London: 1914-1939, London River, Picture
Post Britain and Rescue: A History of the British Emergency Services
(Boxtree).
