Editor's Introduction

Nearly three hundred people attended the 49th annual meeting of the Business History Conference, which was held jointly with the European Business History Association, in Lowell, Massachusetts, June 26-28, 2003. Bill Mass had the difficult but not thankless task of chairing the local arrangements committee; kudos to Bill. The program committee was co-chaired by Phil Scranton and Franco Amatori and included Andrea Colli, Wendy Gamber, Margaret Levenstein, Bill Mass, and Keetie Sluyterman; Rowena Olegario organized the dissertation session. The Business History Conference is successful in large part because of the diligence of its members, but the outside support the organization receives also is crucial. This year's conference was made possible through the support of a number of units or committees associated with the University of Massachusetts Lowell, including the Committee on Industrial Theory and Assessment (CITA), the Regional Economic and Social Development (RESD) department, the Center for Industrial Competitiveness (CIC), and the Tsongas Industrial History Center. The Lowell National Historical Park and the Museum of American Textile History also contributed to the success of the conference by hosting much-appreciated receptions.

The meeting provides the organization the opportunity to present its annual and occasional awards. The Newcomen Article Prize (a plaque and check for $1,000) for the best article published in Enterprise & Society in 2002 was presented to Morris L. Bian for "The Sino-Japanese War and the Formation of the State Enterprise System in China: A Case Study of the Dadukuo Iron and Steel Works, 1938-1945," 3 (Sept. 2002): 80-123. The prize committee also recognized with an honorable mention Jeffrey Hornstein's "'Rosie the Realtor' and the Re-Gendering of Real Estate Brokerage, 1930-1960," 3 (June 2002): 318-51. The Krooss Dissertation Prize, for the best dissertation presented at the meeting, was awarded to Gerben Bakker for his dissertation, "Entertainment Industrialized: The Emergence of the International Film Industry, 1890-1940." The Hagley Prize in Business History, designed to recognize innovative work that has the potential to expand the boundaries of the discipline, was awarded to Clare Haru Crowston for her book, Fabricating Women: The Seamstresses of Old Regime France, 1675-1791 (Duke University Press, 2001). The K. Austin Kerr Prize, recognizing the best first paper presented at the annual meeting, was awarded for the first time this year. It was awarded jointly to Elysa Engelman, Boston University, for her paper, "Dear Mrs. Pinkham: Expanding Intimate Advice Networks into a National Community of Consumers, 1890 to 1935," and to Marlis Schweitzer, University of Toronto, for her paper "Uplifting Makeup: Actresses' Testimonials and the Cosmetics Industry, 1910-1918."

This is my last issue as editor of Enterprise & Society; Ken Lipartito takes over for the March 2004 issue. I am immensely proud to have been part of the effort that has seen the successful launch of the journal. I think we have provided a wide-open forum for innovative, diverse, intellectually challenging work in the field of business history and am confident that there is a solid base on which to expand and explore further. Producing the journal truly has been a cooperative effort. Debbie Green and Amber Esplin provided exemplary editorial assistance. I would like to thank the associate editors, the book review editor, the editorial board, the production and marketing staff at Oxford University Press, the Secretary-Treasurer of the Business History Conference, and all of the authors and referees for their support and assistance. I would especially like to thank Pat Denault, without whom this whole enterprise never would have happened and without whom I could not have successfully edited the journal.