“American Peasant” is back in stock with a new diestamp on the cover. When I designed the cover for the book, I developed six different images, all of which I liked.
So we decided to use a different diestamp for each printing. We sold out the first printing last month, which featured an engraved spell I developed (it is a wish for bountiful wood).
The second printing features a detail of a peasant cupboard I drew for the book. This cupboard is engraved with the “fishing net” protective spell, plus some other agricultural spells.
The interior content of the second printing is the same as the first (except for a few typo corrections). So there’s no need to buy the new one if you have the first one. If you prefer the old cover, some of our retailers still have some copies.
‘Good Eye’ Goes to Press
Late last week, we transmitted the final press files for “Good Eye,” the new book from Jim Tolpin and George Walker. It is, naturally, about furniture design. And it explores simple proportions in a new and deep way.
Their last book, “Euclid’s Door,” showed how artisan geometry could be used to create the essential wooden tools for bench work. “Good Eye” takes a different tack. Jim and George take several beautiful pieces of furniture from different periods and then show the proportional systems behind them. Plus, “Good Eye” shows you how to reverse the process and use the same proportioning system to create new pieces.
If you have been following the work of George and Jim, this new book will expand your understanding of artisan geometry. If you are new to design, “Good Eye” or any of their other books are great entry points to the topic.
We hope the book will ship by the end of the year. I suspect the retail price will be $29. We don’t take pre-orders, but we soon set up a page where you can sign up to be notified as soon as it is released. And, as always, we have no idea which of our retailers will carry it. Read this for more information.
— Christopher Schwarz
Pedantry Police here. “…takes a different tack.”
Thanks. Fixed.
I just restarted “Euclid’s Door” yesterday. I didn’t get far in my initial attempt because the first thing it required was a jointer plane, which I didn’t have. But I got one in a Lee Valley Veritas seconds sale. Yesterday I honed the blade and took the first couple test swipes. I’m excited to get back in to the book and put the plane to use.
I like the new cover, very much.
Looking forward to “Good Eye.” Always enjoy their work. Their books have made me much more observant and knowledgeable about why buildings/furniture look right to the eye and why they sometimes look askew.
Very much looking forward to the Good Eye. Artisan geometry is so deep a part of good design in general in the Western tradition that it ought be considered a criminal offence to replace it with CAD or some other disembodied contraption of high tech.
As well, its study has the salubrious effect (according to Plato) of opening the inner eye, “an organ worth more than a thousand eyes.”
Whether or not that is the case (and I truly believe it is), Tolpin and Walker’s previous books – all of them – are well worth both the money and the time needed to make use of them. I very much look forward to this new one. Thanks for making it happen!