As a favor to the Early American Industries Association (EAIA), we’re opening the Lost Art Press storefront in Covington, Ky., this Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The EAIA is holding its annual meeting this week at the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, Ky. I wish I could be there, but I have books to edit (more on our progress this weekend). On Sunday, members will be driving home, and so we are opening the storefront for the curious.
If you are also curious, you are welcome to stop by as well. I’m working on a Danish Modern chest of drawers in some incredible curly oak and will have that on the bench – not to mention all our books, T-shirts, posters, stickers and a few leftover tins of Katy’s soft wax.
The storefront is at 837 Willard St., Covington, KY 41017.
If you are looking for a reason to tempt your spouse to make the trip, dangle Otto’s brunch before them. The Benedict Otto’s with a side of goetta is something I dream about. Get there early – it fills up. If you get closed out there, try the brunch across the street at Main Bite. Or at Keystone a few blocks away.
In this last post on misericords there are carpenters, benches, axe men, one holdfast, one really old misericord, a measured drawing (!) and rabbets rabbits.
One of the fascinating things about misericords is how the craftsman chose to position his subject on these tricky pie-shaped hunks of wood. In the example at the top the viewer is looking into a small shop created under the bracket. By placing the carpenter behind the bench the details of the bench can clearly be seen.
Late 16th c., Church of St.-Andre, Besse-et-Saint Anastaise, France.
This older misericord with more wear and tear was done by a lesser-skilled hand. Although the carver has given dimension to the bench it is awkwardly angled outward and the carpenter’s head has been twisted almost 180 degrees (ouch).
Late 16th c., Church of St.-Andre, Besse -et-Saint Anastaise, France.
From the same church and by the same carver here’s another odd angle but a much happier carpenter.
Early 16th c., Abbey Church, Noyers, France.
The same idea as the previous two misericords but with a loss of perspective and dimension for the bench. Despite the varying levels of skill in the carvers there was still an effort to show details of the bench, to show the carpenter actually working, and however awkward, to show their faces to the viewer.
16th c., Chirch of St.-Germain, Ormes, France.
Seen from two slightly different angles the carver attempted a bird’s- eye view.
16th c., Church of St.-Germain, Soisy-et-sous-Montmorency, France. Restoration was done in the 1980s.
Although portions are missing the carver provided a dimensional bench and good body position with wonderful detail. The vanishing-point perspective of the floor adds nice depth to the scene.
Bas-relief on a choir stall 1449-1465, restoration (or recreation) 1862-1872. North side of Cathedral of Saint-Claude, Jura, France.
The bas-relief in the Cathedral of Saint-Claude is the only carving showing a holdfast and with a 15th century date it was important to get more information on its history and the original artist. Without the holdfast this example would have been included in the blog post depicting misericord carvers.
Jehan de Vitry of Geneva worked on the choir stalls of Saint-Claude for 15 years, finishing them in 1465. The choir stalls were massive with two sections, each 15 meters long, and backed by a series of tall panels carved in bas-relief. As churches were expanded, or as happened during the Reformation cleared out, a common fate for choir stalls was rearrangement, relocation to another church, or sold for profit. In 1768 the choir stalls of Saint-Claude were cut down, rearranged and covered in ochre paint.
After 400 years heavy restoration was needed, especially for the misericords. From 1869-1875 restoration was done and another rearrangement. The choir stalls were put on the north and south sides of the choir and nave. This rearrangement resulted in some “excess” pieces that were sold off to collectors. Some of those pieces now reside in the Louvre and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Enlargement of the Saint-Claude carpenter with holdfast.
One of the sculptors involved in the 19th century restoration was Alexis Girardet and although the records are not clear it is thought he carved the carpenter with the bench and holdfast. I could not confirm if he reproduced a damaged carving or if this is his own design. I suspect it is his own design because if you look closely at the front left edge of the workbench you will see the initials A. G. To my eye there are some style differences compared to the other bas-reliefs on the inside “walls” of the stalls and no other works had the carver’s initials. So, no 15th century holdfast. Bummer.
But on a brighter note we know when the trees were cut down for the original 15th century construction of the choir stalls. A dendrology study done in the 1980s revealed the trees were cut down in the autumn of 1445 or the winter of 1446.
The troubles for the choir stalls at Saint-Claude continued. On September 26, 1983 there was a fire and the 22 choir stalls on the south side were destroyed. As Saint-Claude is considered a French national monument, photographs on record before the fire were used by an atelier commissioned to recreate the south-side choir stalls.
You may have seen this drawing used in presentations on carpenter’s guilds or with an description from the 19th century: “Carpenter’s apprentice working on a trial piece.” The original is a 15th century misericord from Rouen, France.
1457-1470, Notre-Dame Cathedral, Rouen, France.
There are photos of this misericord with a conservation-style repair to the bracket (I don’t know which is the more recent photo). Two other Rouen misericords are carvers and they have similar body positions which I am now calling “Downward Carpenter.”
One of the oldest, if not the oldest, misericords in Great Britain is in St. Mary the Virgin Church in Hemingbrough. It is dated around 1200, the Early English period.
Top: Last and oldest misericord, dated 1200. Bottom left: measured drawing of choir stall. Bottom right: last remaining choir stalls (back row). St. Mary the Virgin Church, Hemingbrough, England.
The open-work of the Hemingbrough misericord is quite different from most misericords. It is easy to see how this early example would be more prone to damage and given the age, more susceptible to theft.
How much is a “used” misericord worth these days?
Misericord from an auction site.
This misericord is dated around 1450 and is of either English or Flemish origin. Although it is very worn and damaged the auction estimate was $2000 to $4000 (USD) and it sold for close to $8500.
In the gallery in one more (partial) workbench, the axe men and a few other bits.
–Suzanne Ellison
16th c., Church of Saint-Armand-sur-Ornain, France. Restored in 1984.
15th c., St Ouen Church, Routot, France.
Noah’s Ark, 1470, St. David’s Cathedral, Wales.
A calendar misericord, “February”, 15th c., St. Mary Church, Ripple, Great Britain.
15th c., St. Mary’s Priory, Old Malton, Great Britain.
Chasing a log or a sausage, 1520, Beverley Minster, Great Britain.
Example of an “erased” misericord.
Axe, 1499-1501, Church of St.-Etienne, Moudon, Switzerland.
Griffin chasing rabbits. 1489-1494, Ripon Minster, England. Charles Dodgson lived in Ripon and some think he may have gotten his idea for the White Rabbit in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” from this misericord.
My daughter Katy finished up another batch of soft wax that is now for sale on etsy. You can check it out here. The 4 oz. tins are $12 each plus $2 shipping.
Katy plans to continue to make the wax during her summer break while she isn’t working as a bagger at the local grocery store. This grocery job will be her first “corporate” gig, and I’ll be interested to see how she likes it.
She’s gotten a lot of questions about the soft wax via email, customers at the storefront and her older sister. Here is a sample:
Q. Is it a food-safe finish?
A. While all finishes are food-safe once the solvent has evaporated (according to the FDA), why take a chance ingesting some unevaporated turpentine? We don’t recommend it for cutting boards or spoons. Try a non-drying vegetable oil instead.
Q. Can I use it on my workbench top?
A. Yes. But it will reduce the friction between your workbench and your work. We recommend straight oil or no finish on workbenches.
Q. Can I use it over other finishes?
A. Absolutely, yes. It is like adding a wax barrier over the finish. It won’t be as hard as a paste wax or floor wax, but it is easy to apply and renew.
Q. Can I use it on my face and lips?
A. Please don’t. Turpentine will irritate your skin.
Q. Can I use it on tool handles?
A. Absolutely. It leave a nice finish on old tool handles.
Q. Is Katy going to make any other products?
Q. We have discussed making a “bench finish” using a recipe I’ve discussed here 100 times. But her sister, Maddy, wants a cut of the family business. We’ll see.
As always, thanks so much for supporting Katy’s efforts. She does it all of her own volition (I’ve got enough on my plate) and is thrilled that people buy it and like it.
The following topics of discussion are generating a lot of discussion over at the Lost Art Press forum. Remember, if you have a question about our products, procedures in our books or anything related to Lost Art Press, the fastest way to get an answer is our forum. Check it out here.
Wooden Layout Square – Looking for Info Steve Swantee had a photo of a large square he was curious to identify. Turns out it is the large square from “Book of Plates.” Want to see what it looks like finished?
Waterstone Recommendation? Martin Jones is looking to switch from oil stones to water stones and asked for some feedback. He has had a lot of info thrown back his way regarding products and technique. If you want to add to the mix or just see what others are doing, here’s the thread.
Staked Coffee Table Joshua Krieger’s coffee table met its match in a three year old and he is now building a staked one. After putting up his original plans he is keeping us posted on his progress. See his journey and his solution for exposed tenons. (photo at top)
Knockdown Nicholson Bench Ouida Vincent built this bench from Popular Woodworking Magazine in the fall and it turns out a few others did and still are. Questions are still being asked about the process. Thinking of building one?
Drawbored AND Wedged Brian Clites is asked about the advantages and disadvantages of drawboring and wedging a joint. Was it done historically? Readers dug up a trestle table where Christopher Schwarz did just that. (see above) Other participants are looking for specific instructions on how to wedge a joint. Got any suggestions?
I don’t think I’ve ever done this before, so listen up.
Q: Do you want a Vesper Double Square?
A: Yes, unless you are a mouth-breather.
Thanks to the vagaries of the currency market, Australian goods are dirt cheap. Last time I bought Aussie tools the U.S. dollar was about the same value as the Aussie dollar. Now our dollar buys about $1.37 over there.
So you should dump a lot of money on Vesper’s incredible tools. There are none finer. And you are unlike to be able to ever buy the tools any cheaper (without stealing them).
Buy them from Vesper directly here. Really, go nuts. Make your credit card hurt.
If you aren’t that adventurous, buy the double square from Highland Woodworking for the ridiculous price of $140. If that seems like a lot of money then you haven’t used one of Vesper’s tools. That is a steal.
