“You cannot spell ‘contemporary’ without the words ‘con’ and ‘temporary.'”
— Christopher Schwarz, on the founding phrase for his next book.
What is it With These Stupid Quotes?
I don’t collect tools, books or even Hummels (he said, throwing up a little in his mouth).
Instead, I like to collect clarity.
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always gathered little scraps of paper filled with notes jotted down from the books I’ve read, the lectures I’ve attended and the friends I’ve had beers with. I am a great admirer of people who can frame their ideas in a compelling way using as few words as possible – even if I vehemently disagree with them.
I turn these phrases over and over in my mind, like a fine object. I examine the workmanship, look for flaws and study the social context in which they were made. I also like to place these them against other ideas to see if new meaning emerges.
And that is why I post these quotations on the Lost Art Press blog and pair them with images. I don’t mean to confuse or upset. And I don’t use them to indicate my own personal thought processes, mood or aura (I’m trending orange this morning, by the way).
Instead, the blog is a way to record these quotations (I sometimes lose my scraps of paper), and the response from others is always interesting.
So about that Elbert Hubbard quote on obedience. Here’s why I posted it with that image.
1. This is from Elbert Hubbard, the guy who wrote “Jesus was an Anarchist” (1910), a spiritual founder of the American Arts & Crafts movement, a book maker and a soap salesman. Was the guy a genius? A sellout? How does that quotation square with what I know about Hubbard’s philosophy? Does his “Message to Garcia” tick you off or make you nod your head in agreement?
2. Hubbard founded the Roycrofters, an organization of craftsmen who specialized in making all sorts of beautiful handmade and sometimes eccentric objects. Like many Arts & Crafts proponents, the idea was to mimic the medieval guilds.
3. Which takes us to the image, which is from “Die Hausbücher der Nürnberger Zwölfbrüderstiftungen,” naturally. It’s a collection of images of craftsmen from many trades that began in 1388. I’ll let you run the web pages through Google Translate yourself, but these books were created for an interesting reason — they were part of a retirement home for impoverished craftsmen.
So for me, this image and this quotation make me think about the meaning of obedience as it relates to craft, especially now that I am out of a job.
So there you have it. I don’t mean to be opaque, but I also don’t teach people how to cut dovetails by going over to their house and building them a dovetailed tool chest.
OK, now I’ve marked your baselines for you.
— Christopher Schwarz
Obedience School Dropout
Elbert Hubbard’s “The Law of Obedience”
The first item in the commonsense creed is Obedience. Do your work with a whole heart! The man who mixes revolt and obedience is doomed to disappoint himself and everybody with whom he has dealings. To flavor work with protest is to fail absolutely. When you revolt – climb, get out, hike, defy – tell everybody and everything to go to limbo! That disposes of the case. You thus separate yourself entirely from those you have served – no one misunderstands you – you have declared yourself. But to pretend to obey, and yet carry in your heart the spirit to revolt, is to do half-hearted and slipshod work. If revolt and obedience are equal, your engine will stop on the center and you benefit nobody, not even yourself. The Spirit of Obedience is the controlling impulse of the receptive mind and the hospitable heart. There are boats that mind the helm and boats that don’t. Those that don’t, get holes knocked in them sooner or later. To keep off the rocks obey the rudder. Obedience is not to lavishly obey this man or that, but it is that cheerful mental condition which responds to the necessity of the case, and does the thing. Obedience to the institution – loyalty! The man who has not learned to obey has trouble ahead of him every step of the way – the world has it in for him because he has it in for the world. The man who does not know how to receive orders is not fit to issue them. But he who knows how to execute orders is preparing the way to give them, and better still – to have them obeyed.
— Elbert Hubbard
Update on the New Leather Edition of ATC
Here’s a quick update for those of you who have ordered leather-bound editions of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest.” We dropped off the unbound book blocks at Ohio Book on Tuesday afternoon and they should be ready in three weeks.
These books will be bound in brown leather that is then hand-distressed. The end sheets are hand-colored. The spines of the books are hand-rounded on the ancient machinery in the basement of Ohio Book. And then the final result is stamped with a gold foil on the front cover and spine.
The result is, quite frankly, gorgeous. These books – regardless of the content between the covers – are a joy to hold, read and own.
Of the 26 books in this batch, we have six left. The cost is $185 postage paid anywhere in the United States. To order one of the last six, click here.
— Christopher Schwarz
The Anarchist’s Tarp Collection
Today we received our third printing of “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest” from the printer in Michigan and – of course – it was raining the entire time.
After the last two shipments of books that were delivered during rainstorms, I decided to spend some coin on some tarps. I now have tarp riches that most Arkansas boys would only dream of. Blue ones. Green ones. Big and little.
The new printing has a few new features compared to the first two printings:
1. The cover is a charcoal gray cotton cloth with white debossing.
2. We’ve added a complete and amusing index prepared by Suzanne Ellison.
3. I corrected a couple typos that escaped the scouring on the second printing. Plus I updated a couple sections of the book on some small technical matters — nothing of significance to most people.
4. I wrote a new ending to the book.
Yup, when the first printing was shipped I was still at Popular Woodworking Magazine. And the book ends on that note. And now I’m full-time at Lost Art Press and a contributing editor to Popular Woodworking – a significant change.
So here, for your reading pleasure, is the new ending to “The Anarchist’s Tool Chest.”
Date: Nov. 18, 2011
Shortly after I wrote the final paragraph (above) of my original text, I sent
the first printing of this book to the presses. Then I had time to think – a
dangerous thing.
Some people (not me!) write books in hopes of changing the world. As a
lifelong writer I can tell you that what usually happens is that a book really
changes only one person – the author. After forcing myself to face the stupid
things that institutions do to individuals, it became impossible for me to go
to work every day for one of these large institutions.
Lucky for me, my wife and I had paid off our mortgage in 2008. We had
no debts or obligations, other than our utilities and the cat food bill. So I quit
my job. It was the happiest day of my life – right behind the birth of my two
children and my wedding day. (Right honey? Did I say that right?)
Since the day I walked out of my fantastic dream job in June 2011 I have
focused all my energy on publishing books and blog entries that promote the
cause of handwork – my true love.
By the time you read this, I might be handing you a carton of fries via
some Midwestern drive-through window. But when I’m not cleaning out the
grease trap for the deep-fryer or adjusting my hairnet to conceal my receding
hairline, I’ll be writing outlines during my breaks for my next book.
Next up: Furniture design.
Other than the above changes, it’s the same book – no need to buy another one. The new gray-cloth version will start shipping next week. Same price – $37.
— Christopher Schwarz
