The cover image features a tall, dark, and sturdy form. Its many bolts secure seams together, leaving no doubt that the material in focus is metal. The expansive structure is a bridge in the Ruhr Valley, captured by photographer Albert Renger-Patzsch in 1928. It encapsulates the unwavering zeal that geologists, industrialists, and architects had for the potential of iron and steel, and the modern worlds they promised.

Peter H. Christensen documents the iron and steel industries at different scales in Precious Metal: German Steel, Modernity, and Ecology. In doing so, he contributes to a growing body of scholarship focused on the histories of specific materials and commodities, produced by a group that includes Sidney W. Mintz (sugar), Sven Beckert (cotton), and Adrian Forty (concrete), among many others. Christensen’s work connects the field of architectural history to a broader context encompassing ecology, politics, business, and labor history. The result is...

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