Category: To Make as Perfectly as Possible, Roubo Translation

I get asked a lot: Why is it called “The Book of Plates?” Couldn’t you have called it “Roubo’s Drawings” or something. What does the book have to do with dinnerware?

The drawings in “l’Art du menuisier” were produced by a copperplate engraving process, which is an intaglio method of making prints. The results of the intaglio process are called “plates” – that’s the word that Roubo uses in his books and is still used today when precision is appreciated.

I guarantee you will learn more about copperplate engraving and etching in the coming months; we are using the technique to illustrate “Furniture of Necessity” in an effort to make the project more awesome (and difficult to produce).

So until then, enjoy this plate made from images from “The Book of Plates” by Suzanne Ellison, our indexer and resident artist.

If this dinnerware existed, I’d buy six place settings.

— Christopher Schwarz

Suzanne Ellison prepared this montage of swimming ducks from A.-J. Roubo’s “The Book of Plates” (plates 98, 294, 319 and 349) to remind you that you have only a day or so to order “The Book of Plates” and have any hope of it being delivered before Christmas.

Also worth noting: We are shipping this book (and all of our books) via Priority mail until the end of 2014. After that, we will be switching to another system of mailing books. It will be more reliable, likely a little faster than Media Mail and definitely more expensive.

So take advantage of us while you can. Shipping will be more expensive in 2015 (can you hear us, California?).

— Christopher Schwarz

At long last (thank you USPS), I received a box of the production-bound copies of “The Book of Plates.” Like many readers on Twitter and Instagram, I was smitten. It is a bit intoxicating to hold, page through and examine.

We have had several customers who – having received “The Book of Plates” – have asked the following question: “Where the %$#^ is the custom wooden box you promised?”

So if you are wondering the same thing, here’s the answer: “The Book of Plates” ships in a custom cardboard box made in Indianapolis (and at great expense). We said it shipped in a custom box, and I showed it to you here in this video. It’s cardboard, which is termite barf, which was then eaten by a nearby drunken termite and pooped out into a flat, corrugated format (termite sphincters are amazing).

That’s your custom wooden box.

There is no custom wooden box, and we apologize if you read “custom box” as “custom wooden box.” If we did ship “The Book of Plates” in a custom wooden box, then John and I would be wearing custom wooden barrels as we shuffled into the poorhouse.

As always, if you are dissatisfied in any way with our products, send them back to us and we will gladly refund your money.

— Christopher Schwarz