Spring 2001

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WHEN INFORMATION CAME OF AGE: Technologies of Knowledge in the Age of Reason and Revolution, 1700- 1850

of information, the 18th ancl early 19th centuries had no strong themes of their own. Before them came the fer- ment of the printing revolution and elite lit- eracy; after them, the rise of mass coin- is what Headrick does here: he deems the years 1700-1850 a period of exceptional innovation, featuring a "cultural revolu- tion in information systems" that prepared the way for developments ranging from the punch card to the World Wide Web. When Information Came ofAge provides a respectful...

When I taught a course 10 years ago on the history of information, the 18th and early 19th centuries had no strong themes of their own. Before them came the ferment of the printing revolution and elite literacy; after them, the rise of mass com-

William Playfair’s 1786 study of 18th-century British ordnance expenditures. The thick horizontal lines indicate periods of war.

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