The last few months here at Lost Art Press we’ve all been running near the redline, working on upcoming books, getting ready to file our tax returns (an enormous task for a small company) and improving some functions of the website under the hood.
Most of our labor you’ll never see (no one likes to read tax returns), but I am pleased to share some of our progress on our books.
The following is a list of books we are actively working on. That means the text is in our hands and we are working to get it published. If a book isn’t listed here, that means I don’t have anything to report – it’s still in the hands of the author.
‘Good Work: The Chairmaking Life of John Brown’ by Christopher Williams
This book is at the printer and is scheduled to ship to us sometime in the next two weeks. If you order a copy before the book ships, you’ll receive a free pdf download at checkout. After the book ships, the pdf will cost extra.
‘Honest Labour: The Charles H. Hayward Years: 1936-1966’
This book of columns by Charles Hayward during a 30-year period is essentially complete. Megan Fitzpatrick is doing a final copy edit (while working in Alaska, no less). We’ll go to press within two weeks and will open pre-publication ordering then. It’s a huge book – 480 pages. I love it, but I don’t know how it will be received by customers.
‘Make a Chair from a Tree’ by Jennie Alexander (with Larry Barrett and Peter Follansbee)
Peter Follansbee is getting this book prepared so we can begin layout. His long history with Alexander and the chair made him the perfect candidate to get the text ready. I don’t know when this book will be ready for the printer. People are working on it every day. It’s a complex and difficult project, but it will be worth the wait. (If you want to just build the chair, you can stream the video.)
‘Kitchens in Context’ or ‘Kitchen Think’ or ‘Some Other Title to Come’ by Nancy Hiller
With our layout work complete on “Honest Labour” I’ll turn my efforts to Hiller’s book this month. We hope to have it out this summer, just in time for kitchen season (by the way, it’s always kitchen season).
‘The Life of Dick Proenneke’ by Monroe Robinson
The big task with this book is the hand illustrations. Kara Gebhart and Robinson are working with paper artist Elin Price to generate the illustrations for the book (a sample is shown at the top of this blog entry). There is a lot of work ahead on this book, but it is going to be gorgeous.
‘Country Woodcraft: Then & Now’ by Drew Langsner
This fantastic update to Langsner’s classic book is in my hands. I’m making my way through the first edit. My progress has been slowed by all our other book projects, plus furniture commissions and some teaching. It’s a joy to edit and see the evolution of Langsner’s thoughts between 1978 and now. The original “Country Woodcraft” set the stage for much of the interest in green woodworking today, and this new book should stoke that fire some more.
What about Crucible tools? Well we’ve been working hard there as well. Everything is in stock, including this little gem, which I’ll talk more about this week. (There had to be some reward for reading this far.)
– Christopher Schwarz
I love the illustration. Very Aldren Watson.
Making any progress on your book about books?
Most of that progress is being made by Kieran Binnie. You can get glimpses of his work on the book via his Instagram account.
https://www.instagram.com/overthewireless/
The stuff he is digging up in old libraries is fantastic.
I am sure both of you have already found and read tons of information on the subject, but I highly recommend you find a cop of “The Book” by Douglas McMurtrie. It is very similar to what you are researching and has long been out of print to my knowledge. I always enjoy reading this book because of his writing style and his genuine passion/interest in the subject clearly shows.
Hi Chris, thanks for the recommendation – I will check out McMurtrie’s book. Interestingly, the study of book technology and printing is a growing field of academic interest, but the study of the development of the bookcase (which is what we’re digging into for this book) has not yet had the detailed study it deserves. Hopefully we can address some of that with the Book Book.
There will be a blog post about the research process in the next couple of weeks, once I’ve finished chasing down some leads. Thanks for your interest!
Im excited about the pinch rods. Is it easy to switch out different lengths of wood so you can use 1 set for both small boxes le drawers and large boxes like case work? If not, what length would you recommend as a happy medium?
We use 32″ sticks, which handles the full-side stuff. For small boxes, pinch rods aren’t necessary.
It’s easy to swap out the sticks – even easier if you don’t screw the hardware to the rods.
Wow. Plant more trees! You are burning a lot of midnight oil in Covington (and Alaska!). I’m looking into early retirement and a second mortgage to keep pace. I streamed the “Making a Chair from a Tree video”. I was pleasantly surprised that it is not remotely dated! It is a delightful video packed with really valuable information. Jeannie (John in the video) Alexander was an exceptionally gifted, thoughtful presenter. The videography is clear and pointed for the learner. As a green greenwoodworker, I’ve learned a lot from this video. Immediately, I sought out copies of the book. Fortunately, I procrastinate. I am excitedly looking forward to the LAP revisions and reissue of this classic work.
“Books in the works: March 2019” isn’t it March 2020? Just asking for a friend 😁
Lots of jokes I could make. Let’s just say that the 2019 date for this work was aspirational. I’ll fix it.
What’s the scoop on the Tage Frid book?
In the author’s hands.
I’m excited about Nancy’s book however it’s titled!
You don’t print a 480-page book for one reader, but I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to the Hayward book. A craftsman with his words as well as with his hands–thanks for undertaking that one.