|
As recently as 5 years ago if one wanted to consult any of the major historical books on woodworking one needed to have an extensive personal library or access to a really good research library - or (preferably) both. It was during this time I started collecting woodworking books in earnest. Today, thanks to web sites like the 
It's the inscription on the inside covers that adds some dimension to the story. In 1869 John Marches paid $0.75 for this book. He thought this information important to write on both the front and back inside covers He added his town name to the back cover: White Thorn Springs - which seems to have disappeared in the past 140 years.
What's interesting to me is that in 1867 seventy five cents was a LOT of money. For example a 4" saw file cost about 11 cents each. So in today's money that's about $35.00 which is a chunk of change for such a small book. However it's obvious that Mr. Marches felt strongly enough about understanding saw sharpening to not just spend money on the book but also write into it when and how much he paid for it. I think it gives us an idea of how important the book was thought to be at the time - Very important!
|
 Joel's Blog |
 Built-It Blog |
 Video Roundup |
 Classes & Events |
 Work Magazine |
|
Hours: M-F 9:00-5:00, closed Sat,Sun Our Guarantee & Return Policy Shipping and Sales Tax Info Privacy Policy Holiday Calendar |
|
Contact Us:
Email: support@toolsforworkingwood.com Phone: 800-426-4613 or 718-499-5877 Visit Us in Brooklyn: Directions to Our Showroom © 1999-2019 toolsforworkingwood.com Powered by 01 Inc. Coded entirely in NYC |
Thought provoking blog. Thanks.
PS. I like the use of a 4" file as a monetary standard. Very apt.
Regards, Ray
One is sort of tool related - Siddons "Gesture & Action", 1st ed 1807; inside is a 1950 letter from director Alec Clunes to the actors Roger Livesay and Ursula Jeans, referring to the illustrations in the book adding to the interest. Rare because still in original binding, complete (most books have illustrations removed), with only some foxing to detract. A valuable book with other treasured connections for me.
I love my collection of early UK Woodworker publications - not so valuable of course, but take up several feet of shelf space.
However for research purposes the Internet is supreme for at least:
1) Access to a wide a range of material otherwise not available at any price, or too high a price
2) You do not need shelf space
3) Manipulating/quoting material is much easier.
An area that is of concern is works by dead authors, still in copyright, out of print and hard/expensive to get. For example the books of Ken Roberts are unlikely to be republished, hard to get 2nd hand, and still very useful. Nobody benefits from the 70 year rule in this case, there should be a mechanism to allow non-commercial digital access as a default (that the owner can override) if a book has been out of print for a period of say 20 years.
Cheers Peter
Nice book and great inscription, look at that penmanship. I am wondering if there is bleed through, but it looks like he signed the paper fastened to the board? No doubt iron gall ink, can you tell if he used a metal nib or a quill to write the inscription?
Stephen