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By considering the expansion of the timber trade in southeast Europe as a resource frontier, this article explores the relationships between the transformation of the technical and material conditions of forest exploitation and the development of its labour force. Previous studies have identified the period from about 1880 to 1914 as the last phase of the European timber frontier, with new areas of virgin forest being integrated into the European market. During this period, the arrival of foreign industrialists led to a radical transformation of working conditions, both in terms of quantity and quality. A study of the migration process shows that workers from Austria-Hungary provided a reservoir of labour. A thorough analysis of working and living conditions also helps to understand how migrant labour was necessary to keep costs low enough to maintain the profits of large timber companies. Finally, this study contributes to our knowledge of labour issues in the context of the expanding resource frontiers of the late nineteenth century.

This introduction sketches out what relevance wood and wood products have had in Europe’s industrial societies. It also summarizes some peculiarities of the wood-based businesses caused by both the materiality of wood and the ecologies of forests. Most importantly, the introduction contextualizes the findings of this issue’s individual articles in three topical fields, cutting some interpretational paths in an area still rather unknown to many historians: First of all, it argues that analysing wood-based businesses can help to re-consider the history of Europe’s industrialization as a distinctively continental process. Second, the introduction reveals material and ecological barriers to globalization that come into view if one questions the supplies of Europe’s ever increasing industrial wood demand. Third, it considers how a focus on the wood-based businesses can contribute to re-evaluate seemingly clear-cut divisions of Europe into industrial centres and peripheries.

This article explores the history of international softwood timber trade from the late 19th century until the 1970s, focusing on governance and the interplay between public and private sectors. By examining the roles of business associations and international networks, it highlights how these entities have influenced market regulation, standardization, and resource distribution, thus representing significant forms of commodity governance. The study contextualizes the evolution of timber trade governance through periods of geopolitical challenges, world wars, and economic shifts, paying particular attention to the power dynamics between governments, trade associations, and international organizations such as the League of Nations and UN. This research reveals the continuity of governance practices pre- and post-1945, challenging the traditional periodization that separates pre-UNCTAD activities from subsequent developments in global commodity governance.