ABSTRACT
The concept of the industrial district has enjoyed a long renaissance since its revival at the hands of M. Piore, Sabel and J. Zeitlin in the mid-1980s, figuring prominently in the work of business and social historians, economic geographers, regional development scholars and others. Mark Casson’s application of the notion of trust to the problems of markets and hierarchies is a reminder of the distinctly paradigmatic quality of the industrial district model, with the notions of trust and social embeddedness as some of its most salient characteristics. That industrial districts represent a neglected paradigm in the history of industrialisation, contrasted to both the hierarchical Chandlerian firm and the market, is explicit both in the work of Piore, Sabel and Zeitlin and of a number of influential historians. The North Staffordshire Exchange, projected and led by an industrial and social elite within the district and industry, existed for a few brief months in 1859 and then again between 1875 and 1882.
