The Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (gaining the addition of “Royal” in 1908), whose title encapsulated its aims, founded 266 years ago is the subject of this new history of the institution. Whereas the two previous formal histories written by Henry Trueman Wood (1913) and Derek Hudson and Kenneth Luckhurst (1954) provide a detailed look at the Society of Arts and its activities over two centuries Anton Howes considers how this “subscription funded national improvement agency” (xi) tried to make Britain a better place. He provides the setting for William Shipley's plans to establish a society “to embolden enterprise, to enlarge science, to refine arts, improve our manufactures and extend our commerce” (27) by offering awards, following his earlier experiences with the Northampton Philosophical Society and his appreciation of the impact of annual prizes on improving bloodstock. Shipley came to London to develop his scheme and although only ten others joined him at Rawthmells Coffee House for the foundation meeting, the membership quickly grew and the breadth of Shipley's vision meant that the society would offer a staggering and seemingly incoherent variety of premiums that, as Howes writes, meant “the Society is by its very nature is difficult to define” (xi).

At the time of its foundation “Arts” referred to the “arts of design” and the “arts of invention” rather than the fine arts, although premiums were offered to encourage drawing skills to thereby improve designs that could be applied to manufactured goods and so command a higher price. In this well-researched volume Howes illustrates how the society constantly shifted its scope in order to remain relevant and how, through its activity, it influenced Britain's social and economic history from the Age of Enlightenment through the Industrial Revolution and on into the twentieth century. Uniquely, at its foundation it encouraged female participation, from women members to prizes directed at young females.

A membership drawn from all walks of life provided more wide-ranging networks to promote improvement than had its older sister societies, the Royal Society of London and the Society of Antiquaries, and it provided a model that was adopted around the world, including the still-active Patriotic Society of Hamburg (founded 1765), the Geneva Society of Arts (founded 1776), and the Malta Society mentioned by Howes. In addition to an elected membership, the society appointed a worldwide network of Honorary Corresponding Members to help inform and diffuse information on the institution's activities.

The early chapters consider the response to the premiums offered by the society. These ranged over many areas of interest from the polite arts to what the society considered the most important of the practical arts—agriculture. In particular, Howe discusses tree planting, for which the society gave out awards for planting around sixty million trees—thanks to Howe's careful research, this is an increase of at least ten million on the previously known figure but does not include unsuccessful claimants and others who saw the benefit of planting trees. Particular prominence is given to the society's role in promoting innovation and invention and Howes has selected a few of these awards to illustrate this, such as George Smart's “Scandiscope” (77), that removed the need to send young boys up chimneys to clean them. All submissions had to be proven before the awards were made and the society held a number of trials, including the testing of ships blocks at Peerless Ponds in the City.

Premium offers also saw the accidental introduction of the mangelwurzel into this country, and an award to the agriculturalist Arthur Young for growing potatoes; Young also successfully campaigned for the institution to publish its proceedings for the benefit of the wider public. The society's medals were certainly highly prized, as demonstrated by the Carter Winery in Virginia, which featured the Gold Medal awarded to their founder on their wine labels into the late twentieth century. The society's award to William Smith enabled him to publish his scientifically important geological map.

From offering premiums to championing humanitarian schemes, the society has sought both to educate and entertain. As a platform for cross-fertilization of ideas from the eighteenth century to the present day, the society was involved in the arrangements for the Great Exhibition of 1851 and subsequent international exhibitions, and the establishment of a national examination system. This lack of focus on any particular area of activity has been both a strength and weakness making it difficult for the institution, as well as the general public, to understand its actual purpose.

The last quarter of the book covers the period from 1954 to the present day. Howes has had to be quite selective and anecdotal in detail in covering events for this later period and although he writes about the separation of the society's Examinations Board, he does not identify that this was done under the wise joint leadership of John Tomlinson and Martin Cross. Nor is it made clear that it was a commercially successful and viable operation by the time it had to be sold off due to new government regulations. Neither does he discuss the successful development of the society's Student Design Bursaries scheme under the leadership of Helen Auty.

The current CEO has moved away from the society's roles in providing fellows with a wide-ranging lecture program to educate and inform, and acknowledging ability. Now the organization is a think tank to address social concerns but it has also returned to its roots by offering awards, but only to fellows, for developing relevant projects relating to its current themes.

Howes rightly acknowledges the work of the former society historian Dr. David Allan. In order to provide a generally entertaining and illuminating story of manageable length this is a selective history and it is hoped will inspire the reader to look further into the Royal Society of Art's rich history to discover more about the people involved and the awards and activities over the centuries.