The Dissertation Proposal

I'm currently working on the proposal for my dissertation. I am going to examine the history of a printer in Akron Ohio who had a large, flourishing printing business from 1870 to 1914 with offices throughout the world. He's a typical late 19th century printer and businessman and is almost unknown today. The artwork his presses produce is absolutely gorgeous. I'm having fun putting together the pieces of his business successes and failures. The proposal has to be submitted and accepted before May, so I'm working to put the info together and form arguments as to why I should write this dissertation. Then I can barrel ahead and start really writing.