Lost Art Press Blog - Who Was the Author of 'The Joiner and Cabinet Maker'?

Who Was the Author of 'The Joiner and Cabinet Maker'?

We don't know who originally wrote the 1839 book "The Joiner and Cabinet Maker." There's no author listed anywhere in any of the editions we've found. And many long nights of searching Google Books for clues have turned up mostly dead ends.

The reason I have spent hours looking into this mystery is that the book's tale of Thomas Walters, the joiner's apprentice, rings true. As if the author had been an apprentice joiner or cabinet maker. And if the author really was an apprentice, then "The Joiner and Cabinet Maker" is an even more important book that Joel Moskowitz or I thought.

Managing Editor Megan Fitzpatrick has been copy editing the book for us, and she has a theory about who the author was. Keep in mind that Megan has a William Shakespeare problem, so muddy questions of authorship bring out the Nancy Drew in her.

Megan's theory: The author was Tredgold, an early 19th-century engineer.

Megan thinks that Tredgold is the author because "The Joiner and Cabinet Maker" goes out of its way to praise him as a "very eminent scientific writer." And then praises Tredgold saying that he had "received no better an education at school than we have supposed our apprentice to have had." And on and on. Tredgold, Tredgold, Tredgold!

So I decided to sniff down the Tredgold path.

Clue No. 1: Though it's not mentioned in "The Joiner and Cabinet Maker," Tredgold's first name is "Thomas," the same name as the hero of the book. Coincidence?

Clue No. 2: Tredgold was a carpenter's apprentice starting at age 14 in Durham, a northern English county that has a history of mining and agriculture. The shop in "The Joiner and Cabinet Maker" was also a rural shop.

Clue No. 3: Tredgold was a writer. Among other books, he authored "Elementary Principles of Carpentry," a landmark volume in the history of construction.

So I was ready to drink the Tredgold Kool-Aid until I looked a little closer. Perhaps Megan has a thing about both Shakespeare and zombie authors. Tredgold died in 1829 – 10 years before the earliest known edition of "The Joiner and Cabinet Maker" was published.

While it is possible that Tredgold wrote the book and it was published posthumously, I think it's unlikely. With our current leads all dead, maybe we'll break out the Ouija board at our next dinner party and try to solve the mystery.

— Christopher Schwarz

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Saturday, September 12, 2009 8:54:11 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [15] |

Saturday, September 12, 2009 9:10:32 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Well, if it wasn't Tredgold who wrote this book, then it obviously must be Christopher Marlowe.

Unless it was actually Francis Bacon. :@)

Wilbur Pan

Sunday, September 13, 2009 2:56:10 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Chris

Do you have the name of the publisher of the book? That might help in searching this one.

Gary

Gary Roberts

Sunday, September 13, 2009 5:51:27 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

The book was written by Col Mustard in the ball room with a candlestick..:-)

Bob, up way too early

Bob Demers

Sunday, September 13, 2009 11:31:10 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Gary,

The original publisher was Charles Knight. The second printing was done by Houlston and Stoneman. The book appears as part of a series called "The Industrial Library" and sometimes under the blanket label "Guide to Trade."

Some of the books in the series had authors listed, such as "The Tailor." Others did not.

Megan and I have poked around a lot of academic resources, but I know you have strings that we cannot pull....

Kind regards,

Chris

Christopher Schwarz

Sunday, September 13, 2009 10:38:06 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

I have a feeling that we will discover that the author was Francis Bacon. Or that Olde Man Anonymous. She wrote so many things!
John

John Elliott

Monday, September 14, 2009 7:59:58 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

If Thomas Tredgold died in 1829, how did he author a book titled "The Steam Locomotive in 1838. Robert Stephenson's Patent Locomotive Engine?"

dave brown

Monday, September 14, 2009 8:08:38 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

I think it possible that it might be Tredgold's son or grandson as author. Writing about your family is quite (overly) common.
Mike

Mike Holden

Monday, September 14, 2009 8:14:20 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

My theory is that Peter Nicholson compiled and published "the Joiner and Cabinet Maker" as a kindly act for his friend and frequent collaborator -- Thomas Tredgold.

Another possibility is James Newlands -- another friend and contemporary of Thomas Tredgold. Thomas died at the relatively young age of 41 and would have been missed and fondly remembered by his friends.

dave brown

Monday, September 14, 2009 12:41:26 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Since others are working the Tregold issue, let me address the bigger issue.

The only 'Shakespeare problem' is ignorance. Megan rocks!

Chuck Nickerson

Monday, September 14, 2009 1:29:12 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Oh god, it's another Megan groupie.

Have you guys had to bring security to any handtool events yet? lol

dave brown

Thursday, September 17, 2009 12:09:14 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Just posted a non-answer over there with Joel. After a lot of digging, including with Charles Knight, Publishers, no deal. I can't find an author anywhere for this one. I have a strong suspicion that, as with James Lukin, some titles were penned by 'gentlemen' or people of a higher station than that of the trademan. Lukin didn't put his name to some books as it was the practice for writers of 'station' to use a pen name of sorts. As this book was published in 1839, it likely was written during the 1837-1839 period. If based upon a true story, that pushes the author to the first quarter of the 19th Century.

Tredgold referenced Nicholson but there is no indication that he knew him when Nicholson's book was revised. Revisions were a common practice then, there being no formal copyright. Tredgold had a background in carpentry but his real forte was engineering. All of his works deal with the strength of materials as applied to civil and domestic architecture. Given that he placed his name on all of his know works, I doubt he would have published something without adding his name. This title was published during Tredgold's early years of authorship when he worked in architectural firms and focused on materials mechanics.

So who wrote this book? Beats me. But it was fun researching it.

Gary

Gary Roberts

Thursday, September 17, 2009 8:16:26 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

And as Joel points out, most of the books in this series have authors. But not Joinery. Isn't that the way the world works?

Gary

Gary Roberts

Friday, September 18, 2009 1:46:53 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

I think I can settle who the author is.

If you look at page 212 and 211 (from the sample chapters available at TFWW), the hands of the worker should be familiar to those who frequent this blog!!!

Dennis

Monday, September 21, 2009 10:35:25 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

I remember reading about literature researchers who used software to compare two texts and guess if they were from the same author. That could be done with Tredgold's other book.

Émile Essent

Sunday, September 27, 2009 12:51:36 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Any chance Tredgold had a son who followed him in his trade? Perhaps his father told him a lot of stories about the "old days".

It seems like a good possibility that the author would have known Tredgold personally to heap such high praise.

The posthumous published idea doesn't seem likely, but you never know, and I have to ask have you found a copy of the definitive first publishing? Maybe there was an earlier version??

MarkNotMarc

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