Category: To Make as Perfectly as Possible, Roubo Translation

We hope to have some copies of the deluxe edition of “To Make as Perfectly as Possible” to sell to customers once we ship out all of the copies that have already been sold and paid for.

We are not certain how many copies we’ll have left to sell, perhaps something between 60 and 100. We are going to sell these in the Lost Art Press store. Here’s how it will go down:

1. Once all of our existing customers for the book have received their copies and any damaged or missing ones have been replaced, we will count up what’s left.

2. We will announce here on the blog how many we have to sell and a date when they will go on sale in our store. There will be different instructions for domestic and international customers.

3. We will put them on sale in our store on that date. No phone orders. No mail orders. Note that we will hold a few copies back to ensure we can replace any damaged or lost copies.

4. Once those copies are gone, the deluxe edition will be finished. Forever.

5. There is no waiting list for this book. It is strictly first-come, first-served. No exceptions.

My apologies for the strict rules here. I hate rules. But we want to be as fair as possible to all of our customers. So this is how we are going to proceed. (This means that asking us to change our operating procedure is wasted breath/keystrokes on your part.)

— Christopher Schwarz

Readers of this page have often seen the logo for Lost Art Press, a pair of dividers. This was developed from an image in one of the plates Joseph Moxon published in the joinery volume in his “Mechanick Exercises.” Chris isn’t the first publisher to use such a mark, he was proceeded in the mid 16th-century by his namesake Christoffel Plantin. Plantin founded one of the most successful printing/publishing companies ever; the company in fact outlived him by almost 300 years. After 1557 Plantin always used a pair of dividers for his mark, and included with it his personal motto “Labore et Constantia” (Labor and Constancy).

One of the design features used in the deluxe edition of “To Make as Perfectly as Possible” is the adoption of Plantin’s mark for the title page. Redrawn from a 1578 version, the motto was changed to “hoc opus hic labor est.” For this we reached even farther back in time to Virgil’s famous poem the Aeneid.

Facilis descensus Averni:
noctes atque dies patet atri ianua Ditis;
sed revocare gradium superasque evadere ad auras.
hoc opus, hic labor est.

The gates of hell are open night and day;
Smooth the descent, and easy is the way:
But to return, and view the cheerful skies,
In this the task and mighty labor lies.

Lines 126-129, translated by John Dryden

True enough, as we found out. . . . Tomorrow, the typefaces used in the deluxe edition.

— Wesley Tanner, designer of “To Make as Perfectly as Possible”

When we released “To Make as Perfectly as Possible” at Woodworking in America this weekend, there was one recurring comment from the customers:

“I bet you are proud and happy to see this released.”

My response was entirely undiplomatic.

“Actually, I’d be perfectly happy to set the book on fire and then extinguish it with my <deleted>.”

Indeed, this is the way I feel after every book that we publish is released. The process is agonizing, to the point that I struggle to see merit in what we’ve spent hundreds or thousands of hours on.

I’m sure in the coming months that I’ll come to love the book again and feel the same excitement when we launched into the translation project years ago. It’s a natural cycle, and perhaps I should learn to just smile and nod.

For those of you who ordered your standard or deluxe copy of “To Make as Perfectly as Possible,” your book is going into the mail stream starting this week. John Hoffman and his kids will be packing up the books and sending them out as fast as they can.

When you open your package, I think you will agree with me that it was worth the wait.

One important note: We have suspended sales of the deluxe edition for now. We are very close to selling out the 600 copies that we printed. And until we get everyone who ordered a copy their book, we are not taking any new orders. We suspect we will have a few more to sell at the end.

There is no waiting list. Sorry. If you want a copy, you will have to wait for us to count the remaining books and announce how many are available. No exceptions, please.

We are still selling copies of the standard edition for $43. It’s quite nice. You can order one here.

— Christopher Schwarz

If you are in the Cincinnati area and would like to get your copy of “To Make as Perfectly as Possible” signed by two of the principals who worked on the book, be sure to stop by the Lost Art Press booth at noon today.

Don Williams and Phillip Lafargue will be there at Woodworking in America to sign your copy and discuss the book. I am not sure how long they will stick around the booth so get there promptly to avoid disappointment.

— Christopher Schwarz

After thousands of hours of work, we are finally ready to release “To Make as Perfectly as Possible: Roubo on Marquetry” on Thursday.

The last few pieces of puzzle fell into place today with the deluxe edition arriving at John Hoffman’s doorstep in suburban Indianapolis. Exactly 600 books arrived on six pallets, with only three books to a box (typically we get 16 to 40 books to a box). This is a huge book in every sense.

The entire book far exceeds any expectations I had for the manufacturing, the design and the entire editorial package. It is quite possibly the nicest modern book I have ever held in my hands.

And now you have a chance to judge that for yourself at Woodworking in America later this week when we release the huge deluxe edition, the oversized and very nice standard edition, plus a couple other special items starting on Thursday.

Those of you who have been reading my writing since 1996 know that I am not a fan of the hard sell. I don’t like giving it or taking it. So keep that in mind when I say this: We have less than 100 of these deluxe copies left to sell. Once they are gone, they are gone forever. Once you see one, I know you will want one.

If you want to remedy this, you can still buy them in our store here. Yes, they are expensive. I make no apologies for the price. They are worth far more than we are asking, in my opinion.

Other Fun Stuff
To celebrate the release of this book – the first English translation of A.-J. Roubo’s masterwork – we have a couple other items for Woodworking in America.

The first 300 people to purchase or pick up a pre-ordered book (or shirt, hat or DVD) at Woodworking in America, will receive a Lost Art Press iron-on badge for their shop apron or Italian undies. These badges will be available only at Woodworking in America. And it will be one to a customer. Apologies.

These 2” circular badges feature the Lost Art Press dividers in white thread on a blue background. I’m going to sew one to my leather jacket.

We’ll also be releasing our latest T-shirt design in support of “To Make as Perfectly as Possible.” The shirt features a detail from one of the plates from the marquetry book of two Frenchmen busy at some marquetry or inlay. The rear of the shirt features the slogan: “Getting Inlaid Since 1769.” (That was the year Roubo’s first volume was released.)

 

The shirts are available in sizes medium, large, XL and XXL. The shirts are 100 percent cotton and made by American Apparel in Los Angeles. The screen printing was done in Indiana (wait until you see the detail we squeezed out of this one).

The shirts are $20 ($22 for XXL). If we have any left after WIA, we will sell them online in the Lost Art Press store.

And this is the part where you call your boss and pretend to be sick.

It is not too late to join us.

— Christopher Schwarz