This paper discusses a role for microhistory in the writing of accounting histories.
It begins by discussing the concept of microhistory and its application to
accounting research. The paper argues that microhistories can be of great assistance
in writing about accounting during periods such as the industrial revolution. The
second part of the paper provides an example of a microhistory by discussing an
episode involving an embezzlement at Boulton & Watt's Soho Foundry in
Birmingham, England. Knowledge of the incident was gleaned from a small bundle of
letters found in the Boulton & Watt archive. It is suggested that this
incident forms a microhistory that expands our knowledge of accounting in practice
at the Foundry.
MBP
; Matthew Boulton Papers,
Birmingham Central Library, Birmingham, England
.
2.
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Birmingham Central Library, Birmingham, England
.
3.
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, paper presented at the 4th Interdisciplinary Perspectives on
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