No matter how much we write about a new book, there are always additional questions we didn’t think of at first. Here are some of the common questions I am fielding about “l’Art du menuisier: The Book of Plates.”
Question: If I buy all the deluxe editions of the André-Jacob Roubo translations, will I then have all the plates in full size? In other words, do I need to buy “The Book of Plates?”
Answer: While we hope to eventually translate every word of Roubo, that will take many more years to accomplish, and I can offer no guarantees that it will be possible. “The Book of Plates” is a way to have all 383 plates in one quality binding.
Question: How many are you printing? Will you sell out?
Answer: To keep the price reasonable, we are printing several thousand copies of “The Book of Plates.” Unlike the deluxe editions of Roubo, this book is not a limited edition. We plan to keep “The Book of Plates” in print for many years. So if you cannot afford it now, it will be available in the future. No rush.
Question: Will there be a deluxe edition of “The Book of Plates?” Will this book match my deluxe edition?
Answer: There will not be a deluxe edition of “The Book of Plates.” This book is not designed to “match” either the standard or deluxe editions of Roubo now in print. It is larger than the standard edition and smaller than the deluxe. But all the books were designed by the same person, Wesley Tanner. So they all look like part of a family.
Question: So I’m confused about what plates are in what book. Will I have all the plates if I buy “Roubo on Marquetry” and “Roubo on Furniture?”
Answer: Here’s the shortest answer I can offer without a Venn diagram: “Roubo on Marquetry” contains 34 plates. “Roubo on Furniture” (due early 2015) will contain about 84 plates. So the “Book of Plates” will have more than 260 plates that are not in those two books. These 260-plus plates include lots of good stuff on interior woodwork, carriage-making, garden woodwork and some miscellaneous stuff on geometry.
Question: Will you ship “The Book of Plates” internationally?
Answer: This book will be offered to all of our retailers, including the overseas sellers. So we hope it will be available worldwide through them. As retailers officially sign on, we will announce it here on the blog.
Question: Will this book be signed by the author?
Answer: We don’t have an Ouija board that works that well. Sorry.
— Christopher Schwarz
You should buy a better Ouija board. (had to violate an old command)
Chris Schwarz has done a wonderful thing taking on the task of printing Roubo’s plates. I bought the complete works of Roubo in 1975 while working in Quebec City and have learned so much from its four volumes…haven’t tried building a coach though! This forth coming book of plates should be in front of everyone who hopes to become a master of woodworking as Roubo illustrates more than anything else what it means to be a “Master Craftsman”. Our world is too full of Jim Bobs who call themselves “carpenters” but know squat. MENUISIER translates as “woodworking” and not “carpenter” as one sees it translated sometimes in Europe, as Europeans think of a carpenter as someone who has mastered a host of skills, not the grunt occupation that has grown up in the public’s mind in the States. It is our challenge to become masters of what we do…that is the challenge found in the plates…now on to learn French!
Will you be making posters of all the plates available as well?
Indeed. There’ll also be a book of posters. Where every page is a full-size poster
Sweet! I’ll hold out for that one.
Giant posters? (I’m thinking of wallpapering my shop.)
Coffee cups? Shot Glasses?
Only “Book of Plates” collectible dinnerware. ‘Cause, they’re plates, too.
What the heck is fig. 18?
Check Fig. 19. It’s a saw vise.
“… So if you cannot afford it now, it will be available in the future. No rush.”
A big thank you from the bottom of my wallet.
OK, here is a question I haven’t seen addressed: what the hell is a plate? Is it an illustration? If so, why not call it book of illustrations? And yes, I’m serious. Thank you.
Think copper as in engraving. Comes in plates.
Yup. That is exactly right. The books were illustrated with copperplate engravings. Roubo calls them plates. So we used the same word.
Will there be plans for a Ouija board in Furniture of Necessity? If so, will you be selling a poster sized print of all that mystical business that builders of the board will be able to glue to it’s face? Asking for a friend.