Professor Michael French

  • Emeritus Professor, Economic and Social History (School of Social & Political Sciences)

email: Michael.French@glasgow.ac.uk

Room 311, Lilybank House, Bute Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RT

Import to contacts

ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4595-4065

Research interests

Research Interests

  • US Business History and Economic History since 1850
  • Development of sales representatives: marketing functions and careers in UK since 1800
  • White-collar earnings and careers, 1870-1930s
  • Food regulation and policies, 1850-1960s

Research Contribution

  • 2007-2008 Associate Dean(Research), Faculty of Law, Business and Social Sciences
  • Fellow of the Academy of Learned Societies for the Social Sciences
  • 2004-2008 Senate Assessor on Glasgow University Court
  • 2002-2008 Treasurer, Economic History Society
  • 2007 Chair of Subject Panel for Economic and Social History, ESRC Postgraduate Studentships Interim Recognition Exercise
  • 2005-2007 European Science Foundation peer reviewer
  • 2005 Member of Subject Panel for Economic and Social History, ESRC Postgraduate Studentships Recognition Exercise
  • 2001-2003 Academic Reviewer, History, Quality Assurance Agency
  • 2004-2006 Trustee of the Business History Conference
  • 2001-2002 Member of Hagley Prize Committee for Best Book in Business History
  • 1999-2000 Editorial Advisory Board of H-Business, Electronic discussion list
  • 1996-1997 President of the Association of Business Historians

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2022 | 2017 | 2016 | 2014 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998
Number of items: 27.

2022

French, M. (2022) Carolyn Cobbold, A Rainbow Palate: How Chemical Dyes Changed the West’s Relationship with Food. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2020. Pp. viii 1 273. $40. Hbk. ISBN 978-0-2267-2705-9. Social History of Medicine, (doi: 10.1093/shm/hkac024)[Book Review] (Early Online Publication)

2017

French, M. (2017) Modernity in British advertising: selling cocoa and chocolate in the 1930s. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 9(4), pp. 451-466. (doi: 10.1108/JHRM-05-2017-0015)

2016

French, M. (2016) 'Slowly becoming sales promotion men?': Negotiating the career of the sales representative in Britain, 1920s–1970s. Enterprise and Society, 17(1), pp. 39-79. (doi: 10.1017/eso.2015.38)

2014

French, M. (2014) From commercial travellers to sales representatives: the evolution of the sales profession in Britain, 1930s to 1960s. Zeitschrift für Unternehmensgeschichte = Journal of Business History, 59(2), pp. 179-195.

2010

Popp, A. and French, M. (2010) "Practically the uniform of the tribe": Dress codes among commercial travelers. Enterprise and Society, 11(3), pp. 437-467. (doi: 10.1093/es/khq029)

French, M. (2010) On the road: travelling salesmen and experiences of mobility in Britain before 1939. Journal of Transport History, 31(2), pp. 133-150. (doi: 10.7227/TJTH.31.2.2)

2009

Popp, A. and French, M. (2009) Practically the uniform of the tribe: dress codes among commercial travellers. In: European Business History Association and Business History Conference joint meeting, Bocconi University, 11-13 June 2009,

2008

French, M. (2008) Cultures of service: strategies of Scottish grocers, 1915-1965. International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 18(3), pp. 269-282. (doi: 10.1080/09593960802113794)

French, M. (2008) Routes and returns: sales and earnings of British commercial travellers, 1850-1938. In: CIBH Conference on the Road - Direct Selling and the Evolution of Modern Marketing, University of Reading, 15 February 2008,

French, M. and Popp, A. (2008) Ambassadors of commerce: the commercial traveler in British culture, 1800-1939. Business History Review, 82(4), pp. 789-814. (doi: 10.1017/S0007680500063200)

2005

French, M. (2005) Commercials, careers and culture: travelling salesmen in Britain 1890s-1930s. Economic History Review, 58(2), pp. 352-377. (doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0289.2005.00307.x)

French, M. (2005) Mobility and domesticity: British commercial travellers and family life, 1890-1938. In: Commercial Histories: Perspectives on Retailing and Distribution History conference, CHORD, University of Wolverhampton, 14-15 September 2005,

French, M. (2005) Selling products and service: the functions and cultures of commercial travellers in Britain 1920-1960. In: Association of Business Historians' Conference, Glasgow, 27-28 May 2005,

French, M. and Popp, A. (2005) Ambassadors of commerce: images and self-images of the sales representative in Britain, 1900-1960. In: European Business History Association Conference, Frankfurt, 1-3 September 2005,

2004

French, M. and Phillips, J. (2004) Windows and barriers in policy-making: responses to food poisoning in Britain, 1945-1956. Social History of Medicine, 17(2), pp. 245-260. (doi: 10.1093/shm/17.2.269)

French, M. and Phillips, J. (2004) Protéger les consommateurs ou soutenir les producteurs ? La politique alimentaire menée par le Royaume-Uni de 1945 à 1955. Revue d'Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine, 51(3), pp. 165-190.

2003

French, M. and Phillips, J. (2003) Sophisticates or dupes? Attitudes toward food consumers in Edwardian Britain. Enterprise and Society, 4(3), pp. 442-470. (doi: 10.1093/es/khg022)

French, M. (2003) Natural rubber. In: The Oxford Encyclopaedia of Economic History. Oxford University Press: Oxford, pp. 348-350. ISBN 9780195105070

French, M. and Dunlop, J. (2003) Food safety regulations. In: The Oxford Encyclopaedia of Economic History. Oxford University Press: Oxford, pp. 114-115. ISBN 9780195105070

2002

French, M. and Phillips, J. (2002) Food safety regimes in Scotland, 1899-1914. Journal of Scottish Historical Studies, 22(2), pp. 134-157. (doi: 10.3366/jshs.2002.22.2.134)

2001

French, M. (2001) Roundtable: business historians and the internet and the National Negro Business League and African-American business strategies, 1900-1920. In: Business History Conference, Miami, Florida, 20-22 April 2001, (doi: 10.1093/es/2.4.769)

French, M. (2001) The very foundation stone of business: attitudes and strategies among independent retailers in Britain, 1929-38. In: Association of Business Historians' Conference, University of Portsmouth, 29-30 June 2001,

2000

French, M. and Phillips, J. (2000) Cheated Not Poisoned? : Food Regulation in the United Kingdom, 1875-1938. Manchester University Press: Manchester. ISBN 9780719056055

French, M. and Phillips, J. (2000) Compositional food standards in the United Kingdom: the case of the Willis Inquiry, 1929-1934. In: Smith, D.F. and Phillips, J. (eds.) Food, Science, Policy, and Regulation in the Twentieth Century : International and Comparative Perspectives. Routledge: London, pp. 17-35. ISBN 0415235324

1999

Phillips, J. and French, M. (1999) State regulation and the hazards of milk, 1900-1939. Social History of Medicine, 12(3), pp. 371-388. (doi: 10.1093/shm/12.3.371)

1998

Phillips, J. and French, M. (1998) Adulteration and food law, 1899–1939. Twentieth-Century British History, 9(3), pp. 350-369.

Phillips, J. and French, M. (1998) The pure beer campaign and arsenic poisoning, 1896–1903. Rural History, 9, pp. 195-209. (doi: 10.1017/S0956793300001576)

This list was generated on Wed Apr 24 14:42:18 2024 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Books | Book Sections | Book Reviews | Conference Proceedings
Number of items: 27.

Articles

French, M. (2017) Modernity in British advertising: selling cocoa and chocolate in the 1930s. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 9(4), pp. 451-466. (doi: 10.1108/JHRM-05-2017-0015)

French, M. (2016) 'Slowly becoming sales promotion men?': Negotiating the career of the sales representative in Britain, 1920s–1970s. Enterprise and Society, 17(1), pp. 39-79. (doi: 10.1017/eso.2015.38)

French, M. (2014) From commercial travellers to sales representatives: the evolution of the sales profession in Britain, 1930s to 1960s. Zeitschrift für Unternehmensgeschichte = Journal of Business History, 59(2), pp. 179-195.

Popp, A. and French, M. (2010) "Practically the uniform of the tribe": Dress codes among commercial travelers. Enterprise and Society, 11(3), pp. 437-467. (doi: 10.1093/es/khq029)

French, M. (2010) On the road: travelling salesmen and experiences of mobility in Britain before 1939. Journal of Transport History, 31(2), pp. 133-150. (doi: 10.7227/TJTH.31.2.2)

French, M. (2008) Cultures of service: strategies of Scottish grocers, 1915-1965. International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 18(3), pp. 269-282. (doi: 10.1080/09593960802113794)

French, M. and Popp, A. (2008) Ambassadors of commerce: the commercial traveler in British culture, 1800-1939. Business History Review, 82(4), pp. 789-814. (doi: 10.1017/S0007680500063200)

French, M. (2005) Commercials, careers and culture: travelling salesmen in Britain 1890s-1930s. Economic History Review, 58(2), pp. 352-377. (doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0289.2005.00307.x)

French, M. and Phillips, J. (2004) Windows and barriers in policy-making: responses to food poisoning in Britain, 1945-1956. Social History of Medicine, 17(2), pp. 245-260. (doi: 10.1093/shm/17.2.269)

French, M. and Phillips, J. (2004) Protéger les consommateurs ou soutenir les producteurs ? La politique alimentaire menée par le Royaume-Uni de 1945 à 1955. Revue d'Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine, 51(3), pp. 165-190.

French, M. and Phillips, J. (2003) Sophisticates or dupes? Attitudes toward food consumers in Edwardian Britain. Enterprise and Society, 4(3), pp. 442-470. (doi: 10.1093/es/khg022)

French, M. and Phillips, J. (2002) Food safety regimes in Scotland, 1899-1914. Journal of Scottish Historical Studies, 22(2), pp. 134-157. (doi: 10.3366/jshs.2002.22.2.134)

Phillips, J. and French, M. (1999) State regulation and the hazards of milk, 1900-1939. Social History of Medicine, 12(3), pp. 371-388. (doi: 10.1093/shm/12.3.371)

Phillips, J. and French, M. (1998) Adulteration and food law, 1899–1939. Twentieth-Century British History, 9(3), pp. 350-369.

Phillips, J. and French, M. (1998) The pure beer campaign and arsenic poisoning, 1896–1903. Rural History, 9, pp. 195-209. (doi: 10.1017/S0956793300001576)

Books

French, M. and Phillips, J. (2000) Cheated Not Poisoned? : Food Regulation in the United Kingdom, 1875-1938. Manchester University Press: Manchester. ISBN 9780719056055

Book Sections

French, M. (2003) Natural rubber. In: The Oxford Encyclopaedia of Economic History. Oxford University Press: Oxford, pp. 348-350. ISBN 9780195105070

French, M. and Dunlop, J. (2003) Food safety regulations. In: The Oxford Encyclopaedia of Economic History. Oxford University Press: Oxford, pp. 114-115. ISBN 9780195105070

French, M. and Phillips, J. (2000) Compositional food standards in the United Kingdom: the case of the Willis Inquiry, 1929-1934. In: Smith, D.F. and Phillips, J. (eds.) Food, Science, Policy, and Regulation in the Twentieth Century : International and Comparative Perspectives. Routledge: London, pp. 17-35. ISBN 0415235324

Book Reviews

French, M. (2022) Carolyn Cobbold, A Rainbow Palate: How Chemical Dyes Changed the West’s Relationship with Food. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2020. Pp. viii 1 273. $40. Hbk. ISBN 978-0-2267-2705-9. Social History of Medicine, (doi: 10.1093/shm/hkac024)[Book Review] (Early Online Publication)

Conference Proceedings

Popp, A. and French, M. (2009) Practically the uniform of the tribe: dress codes among commercial travellers. In: European Business History Association and Business History Conference joint meeting, Bocconi University, 11-13 June 2009,

French, M. (2008) Routes and returns: sales and earnings of British commercial travellers, 1850-1938. In: CIBH Conference on the Road - Direct Selling and the Evolution of Modern Marketing, University of Reading, 15 February 2008,

French, M. (2005) Mobility and domesticity: British commercial travellers and family life, 1890-1938. In: Commercial Histories: Perspectives on Retailing and Distribution History conference, CHORD, University of Wolverhampton, 14-15 September 2005,

French, M. (2005) Selling products and service: the functions and cultures of commercial travellers in Britain 1920-1960. In: Association of Business Historians' Conference, Glasgow, 27-28 May 2005,

French, M. and Popp, A. (2005) Ambassadors of commerce: images and self-images of the sales representative in Britain, 1900-1960. In: European Business History Association Conference, Frankfurt, 1-3 September 2005,

French, M. (2001) Roundtable: business historians and the internet and the National Negro Business League and African-American business strategies, 1900-1920. In: Business History Conference, Miami, Florida, 20-22 April 2001, (doi: 10.1093/es/2.4.769)

French, M. (2001) The very foundation stone of business: attitudes and strategies among independent retailers in Britain, 1929-38. In: Association of Business Historians' Conference, University of Portsmouth, 29-30 June 2001,

This list was generated on Wed Apr 24 14:42:18 2024 BST.

Grants

Grants

'Real incomes of white-collar workers in Britain, 1889-1930s', British Academy Research Grant, 2005

'National Negro Business League', Carnegie Trust, 2000

'Setting and Policing Food Quality Standards: British Food Regulation, 1890-1939', Leverhulme Trust, 1995-1997

Additional information

Conference Papers

'Changes and continuities in white-collar work during World War 1: employment, earnings and enlistment at J & P Coats' offices', Business as Usual? Institutional impact in the First World War, University of Glasgow, 2 March 2016

'Changes and continuities in white-collar work during World War I: employment, earnings and enlistment in J & P Coats’ offices’, Association of Business Historians’ annual conference, 27 June 2014, Newcastle University Business School.

'"Slowly becoming sales promotion men": negotiating the career of the sales representative in Britain, 1930s-1960s', Economic History Society Annual Conference, University of Warwick, 30 March 2014.

'No Longer Frock Coats and Top Hats, but still Gentlemen: Appearances and Identities among Travelling Salesmen in Britain', AHRC "Uniforms and Identity" workshop, Northumbria University, 13 September 2013.

With Andrew Popp, 'Practically the Uniform of the Tribe: Dress Codes Among Commercial Travellers' European Business History Association and Business History Conference joint meeting, Bocconi University, Milan, 11-13 June 2009.

'Routes and Returns - sales and earnings of British commercial travellers, 1850-1938' CIBH conference'On the road - direct selling and the evolution of modern marketing', University of Reading, 15 February 2008.

'Mobility and Domesticity: British Commercial Travellers and Family life, 1890-1938', Perspectives on Retailing and Distribution History conference, CHORD, University of Wolverhampton, 14-15 September 2005.

'Ambassadors of Commerce: Images and Self-Images of the Sales Representative in Britain, 1900-1960', European Business History Association conference, Frankfurt, 1-3 September 2005.

'Selling products and service: the functions and cultures of commercial travellers in Britain 1920-1960', Association of Business Historians' Conference, Glasgow, 27-28 May 2005.

'The very foundation stone of business': attitudes and strategies among independent retailers in Britain, 1929-38', Association of Business Historians' Conference, University of Portsmouth, 29-30 June 2001.

'Obsequious salesmen and unscrupulous manufacturers': attitudes to consumers and food quality in Edwardian Britain', Perspectives on the History of Food Safety Symposium, The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine, University College London, 18 May 2001.

'Roundtable: Business Historians and the Internet' and'The National Negro Business League and African-American Business Strategies, 1900-1920', Business History Conference, Miami, Florida, 20-22 April 2001.

'Cotton, Commerce and Capitalism: Assessing the Impact of Slavery on the South, 1840-1880', Glasgow Branch of the Historical Association, 4 May 2000.


Michael J French