TABLE OF CONTENTS In his 19th-century smash hit novel A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens opens his tale of London town with one of the most memorable statements in literary history, It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. He was of course referring to all that was good and bad in Victorian England in the mid 1800 s. It was a time in human history when England truly led the World through invention and trade, yet imparted much misery on its lower class population through virtual slave labor practice to please the elite few. The period was eventually named The Industrial Revolution.
Against this backdrop the photograph of a child laborer depicted on the chapter page is taken. Taken in an 1800 s textile mill, he typifies the lubrication specialist of the day. Imagine a dark four to five story building with low ceiling heights, with rows and rows of noisy, dirty, unguarded machines being fed motive power from a basement steam engine connected to each floor through belted line shafts running the entire length of the building. Above the machines is an erected gallery or decking allowing only room for a stooped over child to scurry up and down and across the labyrinth of machinery. The thirsty machinery requires a continual supply of grease and oil to lubricate its belts and moving parts. Working in this most dangerous environment, many of the lubrication children suffered...
