To avoid such problems, some manufacturers issued detailed descriptions of material to ensure that their supplies met certain quality standards. American rails were so poorly-made, in fact, that many railroad companies preferred British imports, which were more expensive but reliable. Moreover, manufacturers encountered numerous quality problems in end products such as steel rails because suppliers furnished inferior materials. The new materials and techniques invented during this period required new technical expertise. Locomotive builders, steel rail producers, and steam engine builders who used revolutionary new materials such as Bessemer steel could no longer rely on craft experiences of centuries past. The industrial revolution opened a new chapter in the history of material specifications. Craft experience was indeed key because artisans had no instruments to measure the tensile strength, chemical composition, and other characteristics of a given material. Shipwrights preparing to build a sturdy vessel usually ordered live oak, the toughest hardwood available in Europe and North America, rather than softer white oak, because they knew from experience that live oak was more durable. One of the first materials specifications is found in the Book of Genesis: “Make thee an ark of gopher wood rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.” Prior to the 19th century industrial revolution, craftsmen told their suppliers in similarly basic language what kinds of materials they desired. Standard Specifications: A Novelty in American Industry Early Standards Development and the Origins of ASTM