Lost Art Press

Part Two: Philippe LaFargue entered my studio as a post-graduate intern from Ecole Boulle. Since intern abuse is not in my blood (I know, it makes me a bad fit for Washington, D.C.) I refrained from having him do anything more than translate the Table of Contents of “L’Art du Menuisier” and tell me about some of the sections on marquetry.

The Seed that Pop planted, Philippe nurtured.

Fast forward to 2009. My old friend and colleague Michele Pagan, a textiles conservator, had begun working with me to develop some innovative upholstery conservation techniques the year before. On our way back from the lunch room one day she stopped to talk to another colleague and the conversation revolved around some translation Michele was doing of a French dye treatise. Suddenly a very bright light went on in my head.

I was starting to work on a monograph about historic finishing and wanted to know about some odd tools represented in Roubo plate 296. Could she help explain what they were used for?

After looking at the plate in the gigantic volume, she said, “Sure.” She did, and the rest is history.

The Seed that Pop Schindler planted and Philippe nurtured was brought to fruition by Michele’s translation.

Last fall we pitched a wild idea to Chris Schwarz and he graciously agreed to partner with us in bringing Roubo to the modern cabinetmaker. Rather than translating, annotating and interpreting the whole of “L’Art du Menuisier,” we decided to focus on, well, the parts that interested me. Some time late next year we will present the first of the Lost Art Press volumes, which will contain the following sections (you can refer to original page numbers):

“To Make As Perfectly As Possible: Roubo on Marquetry”

An Essay on Appreciating and Measuring the Value of Hand Work p1242 -1254

Conclusion of the Art of Carpentry p1255-1264

The different woods appropriate for veneering pp766-814
Section I: Description of “Wood from India” and its qualities, relative to cabinetry;
Section II: French woods appropriate for cabinetry
Section III: Different dye compositions appropriate for tinting wood and the manner of using them
Section IV: Thinning of wood for veneer-making
  Description of tools of veneering
Section V: Appropriate carcass construction for veneering, their manner of construction

Simple Veneering: general instructions pp. 815-865
Section I: Various Kinds of Compositions
  a. Manner of cutting and adjusting straight pieces and tools for same
  b. Manner of cutting and adjusting curved pieces and tools for same
Section II: Manner of gluing parquetry veneer
  a. Finishing of veneer and different types of polish

Ornate Veneering, called mosaic or painted wood pp. 866-897
Section I: Principal rules of perspective absolutely necessary for cabinet makers
Section II: Manner of cutting, shadowing and mounting wooden ornaments
  a. Manner of engraving and finishing wooden ornaments
Section III: Representing flowers, fruits, landscape and figures in wood

About the 3rd type of veneering in general (aka Boullework-DCW) pp. 982-1031
Section I: Description of different materials for construction of the 3rd type of veneering
Section II: The skills one uses in the 3rd type of veneering
Section III: How to work the different materials used in marquetry, such as tortoise shell, ivory, horn etc
Section IV: How to construct marquetry and how to finish it

Some time in 2013 we hope to present the second offering, which will (tentatively) contain these portions:

“To Make As Perfectly As Possible: Roubo on Furniture Making”

Proper wood for furniture making pp. 22-39

Different ways of assembling wood pp. 45-48

Proper tools for furniture makers: different types, forms and uses pp. 49-89

Drafting and gluing pp. 273-291
Section I: how to take measurements
Section II: About wood glues

Furniture-Making in general pp. 600-633

Chair making pp. 634 – 664

Making case furniture pp. 743-765

Tools and machines for furniture making pp. 898-981

This project is indeed a labor of love for us, and we render our deepest thanks to the cohort of friends and colleagues who are helping to make it happen. I hope you will find useful what we make of it. Let’s hope we finish it before it finishes us!

— Don Williams

by Don Williams

Part One: I don’t speak or read French. Not a word. So how did I wind up involved in a project to bring the greatest French treatise on cabinetmaking to an Anglophone audience? ‘Tis a long a winding trail.

The seed was planted sometime around the year 1975. I was a kid working as a finisher and restorer at shop in Florida. The old man, “Pop” Schindler, had started the company on the cusp of our first “Great Depression” and had somehow managed to keep the doors open, in great part thanks to his incredible depth of knowledge and skill as a traditionally trained Swiss apprentice. Pop was a curmudgeonly soul, and he had devolved into near-crotchety-ness since his son Fred had taken over the business and freed Pop to putter and mutter (in French).

One day an old-money Palm Beach client (Ambassador Something-or-other) pulled up with boxes full of parts for what looked like just another old piece of junk to put back together. It was, in fact, a simple (for him) tulipwood parquetry secretaire by Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806), successor to ebeniste du roi Jean-Francois Oeben, and cabinetmaker to King Louis XVI, renowned for the Versailles Desk.

As I began working on the secretaire, Pop started hanging out with me. It made me nervous, given that I did not know him well and all the other guys in the shop told me he was a cranky old coot who always “knew a better way” to do whatever task was on the bench and would butt in whenever he wanted to because he was the owner of the shop.

The other guys were right.

Yes, he could be a cranky old coot, but I grew to hold him in great esteem and affection over time. And guess what; he really did know a better way to do almost anything being done in the shop (except spraying lacquer, which he viewed as a sin against nature and God). Fortunately I was the victim of a loving and excellent upbringing, so out of respect (at first) I let the old man blather on about old furniture and ways of doing things. What a treasure trove of knowledge was slung at me in rapid fire Frenglish! Once he realized that I actually was trying to pay attention and learn, his attitudes softened and he took me under his wing. I can state with certainty that the time with him working on that cabinet was among the most important learning periods of my almost-40-year career.

When the piece was finished and awaiting delivery, he made a remark that puzzled me.

“Roubo would be proud,” he said simply. With that remark he planted the Seed.

“Roubo? I thought this was Ambassador Something-or Other’s cabinet,” I said.

His look in reply could only be described as that glance from a man towards an idiot in-law or elected politician.

Then he told me about “L’Art du Menuisier.” Pop did not own a copy, but the shop’s most important patron (a renowned collector of French decorative arts) did, he said. A first edition from 1765 or some such time. Someday when we were over at the estate together he would ask to show it to me. That day never came, and I did not see Roubo with my own eyes until almost 10 years later. I devoured the images and plates, and wanted to know what the text said almost enough to learn French. Almost. — Don Williams