Many of the visitors to our shop spend more time checking out the books in the back than the books in the front. In front are all the books Lost Art Press publishes (along with our Crucible Tool offerings). In back is what we call the Covington Mechanical Library – the very large and overfull floor to ceiling bookcase that holds most of the furniture reference books we use, along with a few backup tools, a very few collectibles and Mr. Chirpy (a mechanical bird that chirps when you walk by the embedded motion sensor). Most of the books are grouped together in a loose conglomeration of like subjects. There are, for example, sections on chairmaking and chairs, Shaker furniture, campaign furniture, etc. (And there are many books that could go in more than one section – and sometimes they change section – or whole sections move – without me knowing it’s happened. I blame the cats.)
And because not everyone can visit us (which is probably for the best, as we’d never get anything done if they could!), I’m going to go through the various bays in our bookcase and share with you what’s there (and I might divide some of the larger bays into smaller sections). There is no set schedule – but it will always be on Sundays.
To ease us in, I’ll start with The History of C. Schwarz in Woodworking Publishing section. In it are bound volumes of Popular Woodworking Magazine from 1997 when Chris started at the magazine through the year F+W Media stopped offering bound volumes, 2007. But Chris, who is the most hyper-organized person I know, also clipped every article he wrote and kept them in binders – those are alongside the bound volumes. (“Those are clips for when I got fired,” he says. Ever the optimist.)
There is also a copy of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” from the first press run (it’s the book that let him quit as editor of PWM before he got fired), and a leather-bound volume from that same printing. Alongside that are three copies of his “Anarchist’s Design Book,” one from the first press run, one from the first press run of the revised edition (with the red ribbon)…and one that’s been lopped off at the front edge and bottom, for those who complain that the three Anarchist’s titles are different sizes. Tucked amongst them is a black-cloth-clad ATC (it’s the 11th printing…which may or may not be the first black cover. We’re old and can’t remember). Then two copies of “The Anarchist’s Workbench” – one with black debossed type and cover art, one with white (the first and second printings.) There is also a copy of Nancy R. Hiller’s “Making Things Work” from our first press run of her book – because it belongs in this super-special-to-us section.
– Fitz
