From
The Mechanick Exercisesby Joseph Moxon, Chris SchwarzIn the late 17th century, Joseph Moxon published The Mechanick Exercises, a series of pamphlets about several trades. The Art of Joinery was one of his guides, and it's the first how-to woodworking book written in English. I'm a huge fan of Moxon and I've been talking for years about his work with fellow enthusiasts, but since The Mechanick Exercises is out of print and the few copies that show up at auctions or eBay are expensive, most woodworkers haven't had the chance to familiarize themselves with him. Not only are Moxon's guides of historical interest, but they also offer insights that are valuable to contemporary hand tool woodworkers. Fortunately Chris Schwarz of Popular Woodworking and his colleagues at Lost Art Press have published this wonderful edition of The Art of Joinery, with commentary from Chris. It's an extremely elegant little book, hardbound with a navy blue cloth cover, and the pages are off white with a ragged edge to give you the feel of an old book. Great care has been taken to make Moxon more accessible - this edition updates linguistic distractions like outdated spellings, includes helpful commentary, aligns Moxon's illustrations better with the text, and illustrates his techniques with lots of photos and illustrations from other sources. Best of all, the book conveys why Moxon matters, and how his descriptions of lost skills are still so vital to contemporary woodworkers. I am personally thrilled that a new generation of readers can acquaint themselves with this essential work.
In addition to the modernized text this second edition includes all the original text of the joinery section of the book, complete with all original spellings, grammar, italics, and punctuation. Also included is an appendix of a selection of plates from Andre Felibien's "Principes de l'architecture(1676) which was the source for many of the Moxon's illustrations.
155 pages, 6" x 9". Printed in the USA.
Pages: 155
Binding: HC
Publisher: Lost Art Press