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Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamphlets

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Re: Luring Out a Couple of People with Rare Pamphlets/Books

Postby AndyT » 14 Feb 2021, 18:57

:obscene-drinkingcheers: :text-thankyouyellow:
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby Trevanion » 14 Feb 2021, 20:07

I've changed the name of the thread since we're not trying to lure anyone anymore (Although I haven't seen Toolsntat pop his head in yet!)

Here's my copy of "Cutters and Cutter Blocks" by Stafford Ransome, 1927. Copies of these are reputed to be exceedingly rare, this one was the only one I have ever seen for sale and I haven't seen another since.

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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby Trevanion » 19 Feb 2021, 22:31

I picked up a pair of little books by Alfred E Bridgwood, "Questions & Answers on Joinery" and "Questions & Answers on Carpentry" which were part of the Newnes' "Questions & Answers" Series which included titles on Brickwork, Heating, Plumbing and a few more. A. E. Bridgwood was a lecturer in Carpentry and Joinery at the Royal Technical College in Salford

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The interesting bit about these books that caught my eye though is that they were both owned by an "E.C. McIntosh" in 1951-1952 and from what I can understand they spent time in an RAF base in Nairobi, Kenya, and Fayid, Egypt. I love books that have a bit of interesting history.

Joinery:

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Carpentry:

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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby AndyT » 20 Feb 2021, 13:33

Another good find. I agree about evidence of previous owners - and that reminds me of a favourite of mine. I'm busy woodworking at the moment but will post some pictures when I'm back in the Library Wing.
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby AndyT » 24 Feb 2021, 15:28

Ok, I'm back in the library and I've found the book I promised. It's Volume 1 of a series of text books published in 1875 to fit alongside a course devised by the Science & Art Department of the Committee of Council on Education, South Kensington. The short version of that story is that it was one of a set of worthy Victorian institutions which gave us the V&A, the Science Museum and Imperial College - there's a longer summary here.

I bought this book in the Community Book Shop in York in 1982 for 60p. It was the first book I read about how buildings were put together 'under the skin' as it were. It helped spark my interest in practical building trades (especially carpentry and joinery) and has been a great help in maintaining various old places I have lived in since.

You can read the whole work online here: https://archive.org/details/notesonbuilding02artgoog/page/n8/mode/2up where you can also find the other volumes. But you won't find the pencilled notes of the previous owner of my copy, which are still as bright and clear as they must have been nearly 150 years ago.

He didn't sign his name, but did note on the title page that the course was "commenced 2nd week in May". He must have had a good college instructor and really paid attention in class. There are extra notes and diagrams every few pages, adding extra detail not included in the textbook. Here's a selection, concentrating on the woody sections.

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I hope he won't mind anyone borrowing his homework!
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby Trevanion » 25 Feb 2021, 01:23

What a wonderful thing, not only is it a great book but it has been augmented by the owner's own scribblings and notes, which arguably make it an even better resource as he's in some cases simplified what's already on the page into easy formulas and clearer illustrations.

"Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for." - Socrates
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby Trevanion » 28 Feb 2021, 14:58

Picked up this interesting little pamphlet of eBay the other day, it's an old Accident Case Study pamphlet from the '60s with some interesting adverts and sobering stories in it.

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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby NickM » 01 Mar 2021, 16:58

What a gruesome book!
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby AndyT » 01 Mar 2021, 17:40

Yes, but with a certain grim charm to it.
Dan, are you thinking of selling a range of greetings cards using some of those images... I hope the answer's No... ;)
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby Trevanion » 01 Mar 2021, 19:33

NickM wrote:What a gruesome book!


And the book wouldn't exist if these things didn't actually happen, it's a terrifying thought that all these case studies are true and happened to people, some of whom might even still be alive (slim, but not totally impossible).

AndyT wrote:Dan, are you thinking of selling a range of greetings cards using some of those images... I hope the answer's No... ;)


I wouldn't dare infringe the Crown's copyright, we know what they used to do with thieves, and I like my hands!
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby AndyT » 01 Mar 2021, 19:49

Thinking again about the style of those pictures, especially the one of the laundry incident, I was reminded of this illustration. It's real, from an old children's story book. Unfortunately I omitted to make a note of the title. I know it's not woodworking but it appealed to my childish sense of humour.

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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby Chris101 » 01 Mar 2021, 22:29

Nancy doesn't give two sh*ts what you think.
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby NickM » 02 Mar 2021, 17:15

I like the tea station you can skate over to. I suppose the modern equivalent is a swim up bar.
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby Trevanion » 11 Mar 2021, 01:11

One for AndyT :)

"Carpentry and Benchwork" by "Boy's Own Paper". No idea about age but I'd guess the early twentieth century. I haven't taken a picture of the inside chapters but if anyone wants to see anything that they see in the contents list, just say.

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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby AndyT » 11 Mar 2021, 09:50

Another brilliant find, right up my street.

You're right about the date - Wikipedia gives dates for the editors and AL Haydon was 1912-1924. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy%2 ... prov=sfla1

Great ads, with products that really need reviving. Would you choose the scientific sounding "Tenasitine" or the more memorable "Glood" - which sounds like a mixture of glue and blood to me.

And I do like the ambition of it. Don't all boys dream of making their own davenport? Well, maybe only the dozen or two who know what a davenport is... I wouldn't mind seeing a page or two of that!

Thanks for spotting, buying and sharing.
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby Trevanion » 11 Mar 2021, 09:54

AndyT wrote:
And I do like the ambition of it. Don't all boys dream of making their own davenport? Well, maybe only the dozen or two who know what a davenport is... I wouldn't mind seeing a page or two of that!


I think the “How to make a Steam Turbine and a Water Turbine” is a bit ambitious too :lol:
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby AndyT » 11 Mar 2021, 10:03

Trevanion wrote:
AndyT wrote:
And I do like the ambition of it. Don't all boys dream of making their own davenport? Well, maybe only the dozen or two who know what a davenport is... I wouldn't mind seeing a page or two of that!


I think the “How to make a Steam Turbine and a Water Turbine” is a bit ambitious too :lol:


Naah, it only needs 10 pages, the davenport needs 12!

(If they really can describe how to make the turbines that chapter must be a masterpiece of concision!)
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby Trevanion » 13 Mar 2021, 12:21

AndyT wrote:And I do like the ambition of it. Don't all boys dream of making their own davenport? Well, maybe only the dozen or two who know what a davenport is... I wouldn't mind seeing a page or two of that!


I'm not even sure if you can get Canary wood anymore!

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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby AndyT » 13 Mar 2021, 13:09

Ah, thanks for that. Not quite as ambitious as I was expecting - my books agree that a davenport has drawers as well as a writing surface, like this

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Which would probably be a bit of a tall order. I can see that it must have been a thankless sort of hack-work, writing instructions for making things that would never be followed by 99.9% of the readers. I suspect books like this were often bought by well meaning relatives who just wanted something suitable that was easy to post - but more of that in another thread.
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby Trevanion » 19 Mar 2021, 01:05

So I bought a couple of books off an eBay seller (for an absolute bargain price) and he was kind enough to include this book, which isn't really a book about woodworking but it is an interesting read. These early union guys really were pioneers and we have a lot to thank them for that is now law that we take for granted today.

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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby Trevanion » 03 Apr 2021, 07:32

From the same seller as above, I received this for the princely sum of £0.99 (They were very happy they were going to a good home :))

Carpentry and Joinery by M.T. Telling, 1950. It's signed by the previous owner who looks to be a "Glen E Mitchell", I'm not sure what the letters stand for. It also seems to be signed by the author, it's not often I pick up a (seemingly genuine) signed copy of a book. The book has some excellent information inside but it does have a very thoughtful preface and introduction I thought were worth sharing, there’s also a poignant quote from Richard Llewelyn’s “How Green Was My Valley”.

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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby AndyT » 03 Apr 2021, 08:07

Interesting.

I wonder the owner could have been George Mitchell, author of a similar book on carpentry and joinery, getting some encouragement from an earlier expert?

The British Library catalogue entry shows that he was born in 1929 so would have been 21 in 1950. I can't see what ABICC means either, but a couple of online instances suggest it could be a building qualification.

http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libw ... G.+(George)%2c+1929-&rfnGrp=1&rfnGrpCounter=1&frbg=&&fn=search&indx=1&dscnt=0&scp.scps=scope%3A(BLCONTENT)&vl(2084770704UI0)=any&tb=t&vid=BLVU1&mode=Basic&ct=search&srt=rank&tab=local_tab&dum=true&vl(freeText0)=Mitchell%20carpentry%20and%20joinery&dstmp=1617433130727
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby Trevanion » 03 Apr 2021, 12:20

AndyT wrote:Interesting.

I wonder the owner could have been George Mitchell, author of a similar book on carpentry and joinery, getting some encouragement from an earlier expert?

The British Library catalogue entry shows that he was born in 1929 so would have been 21 in 1950. I can't see what ABICC means either, but a couple of online instances suggest it could be a building qualification.

http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libw ... G.+(George)%2c+1929-&rfnGrp=1&rfnGrpCounter=1&frbg=&&fn=search&indx=1&dscnt=0&scp.scps=scope%3A(BLCONTENT)&vl(2084770704UI0)=any&tb=t&vid=BLVU1&mode=Basic&ct=search&srt=rank&tab=local_tab&dum=true&vl(freeText0)=Mitchell%20carpentry%20and%20joinery&dstmp=1617433130727


I've just had a look through the sellers listings as all the books (A LOT of architectural texts, particularly about Churches in Britain) belonged to his father-in-law from what he said, a couple have a impression stamp on the pages stating "Library of George Mitchell".

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Might be the same fella, I found this article about him passing last year:

https://insidecroydon.com/2020/04/20/councillor-alderman-and-teacher-george-mitchell-has-died/
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby AndyT » 03 Apr 2021, 12:31

Well, the dates don't exactly tally, but I don't think either source can be expected to be 100% reliable. I think that's the man and you've uncovered one of his mentors giving him some encouragement early in life.

There's a lot of good sense in his introduction too.

You'll have to buy the rest now - how's the archive building coming along?
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Re: Rare and Interesting Woodworking-related Books and Pamph

Postby Trevanion » 07 Apr 2021, 20:06

AndyT wrote:You'll have to buy the rest now - how's the archive building coming along?


Oh, you'll have to wait and see Andy! 8-)

Having a look around, it seems "A.B.I.C.C." was an old-school form of Carpentry and Joinery Qualification given out by City and Guilds from before the 70s.

It seems a few authors on my shelves have the qualification/accreditation, J. Raymond Foyster certainly did anyway:

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