Pre-Orders Now Open for ‘Backwoods Chairmakers’

One of the many benefits of bringing our order-fulfillment operations back to Kentucky is that we can again offer pre-publication orders of our books, with a free pdf and free shipping.

So I am happy to tell you that we are now taking pre-publication orders for Andy Glenn’s first book, “Backwoods Chairmakers.” You can place your order here. The book is $47. When you do, here’s what happens:

You will receive a free pdf of the book at checkout.
Your order will ship – for free – as soon as the book arrives in Covington.

The book is currently at the printer in Tennessee, and it is scheduled to ship the last week of December. Because of weather and the holidays, that might slip to the first week of January 2024.

Why should you buy this book?

When working with Andy on this book, we had a lot of late-night conversations. This book is a massive work. Andy said to me: “If I ever do another book, you have to stop me from going to extremes. Like trying to do everything. I’m like that. I just can’t help it.”

“Andy,” I replied, “that fact that you go to extremes is why this book is so damn good.”

Andy traveled all through Appalachia for this book, putting thousands of miles on his car and talking to people far and wide to do one thing. It’s this: Give the Appalachian chairmaker their due.

For centuries, people in this region have been making chairs for their communities and for sale to others, and the skills have been handed down through generations. Thanks to the modern world, their numbers have dwindled. Andy went and found them. He documented their work and their lives.

And – this is important – he approached the work as a woodworker as much as an ethnographer.

I love the “Foxfire” series of books. I have the complete series on my shelf. But they weren’t written for practitioners. “Backwoods Chairmakers” is a must for anyone who makes chairs or is interested in the culture and spirit of Appalachia.

Andy took thousands of photos and collected archival photos from all over the region. He talked to everyone who would let him in the door. He wrote their stories with an open heart – empty of the bias that often permeates the writing about the region.

And he shows you how these Appalachian chairmakers influenced his own work at the bench. The final two chapters detail how Andy builds a settin’ chair and a grand rocker.

Like all our books, “Backwoods Chairmakers” is made in the USA to the highest quality standards. The signatures are printed on #70 matte coated paper, sewn together with thread and bound with glue and fiber tape. All that is casebound between cloth-covered boards. And wrapped with a tear-resistant dust jacket. This is a permanent book.