Heavy Mail, or 10 Days of Reviewing ‘Roubo on Furniture Making’

Just as expected the UPS truck arrived this afternoon with a hefty box, inside of which was the three-ring binder with the 434 pages of text from the next offering in the “Roubo” series. Once we are done reviewing it word-by-word, line-by-line, illustration-by-illustration, I will send it back to Chris and the next time I see it will be when the book is received from the bindery.

This is the view that will dominate my next ten days. The remainder of this week I will read and review the editorial comments thus far, and starting Sunday or Monday we will begin our limited engagement of the dramatic reading of the pages. I’ll be reading it out loud in its entirety including any punctuation of typesetting features while Michele follows along in the original French, consulting occasionally with her notes on her laptop or grabbing for one of her inventory of dictionaries going back several centuries.

Here we are (above) engaging in the same exercise 3-1/2 years ago for “Roubo on Marquetry.” The only difference this time is the likelihood some of the work will be done from rocking chairs on the front porch, reveling in the crisp mountain air and trying to not be distracted by the scenery.

As I noted recently in a comment to a blog post on this site, I look forward to completing the final final final review before this puppy gets to press. It has been a long road to this point.

I remember when Chris was visiting us in 2012 and my wife said something like, “If Roubo is so important, why hasn’t anyone done this project before?”

Chris: “Well, how long have Don and Michele been working on it?”

Wife: “Oh, several years, maybe four or five.”

Chris: “That’s why.” Probably unsaid, “Because nobody else was crazy enough to get it done.”

So now we are almost 10 years in and perhaps another 10 to go. By then Michele and I (and our indulgent spouses) will be ready for a rest.  But for now, 10 days of Roubo Boot Camp await us.

— Don Williams, donsbarn.com