Ancient Carpenter's Tools: Illustrated and Explained, Together With the Implements of the Lumberman, Joiner, and Cabinet-Maker in Use in the Eighteenth Century by Henry Chapman Mercer

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Ancient Carpenter's Tools: Illustrated and Explained, Together With the Implements of the Lumberman, Joiner, and Cabinet-Maker in Use in the Eighteenth Century
by Henry Chapman Mercer

Paperback: 352 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.67 x 9.27 x 6.10
Publisher: Dover Pubns; (May 2000)
ISBN: 0486409589

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From Book News, Inc.: While Mercer served as its president 1910-30, Bucks Country (Pennsylvania) Historical Society published his 1929 account of the tools in its collection dating to the 18th century of that region. The ancient dimension arrives with the assertion that they are virtually identical to those used in the ancient world. Some old drawings portray use, but most illustrations are photographs of the tools themselves.

Customer Reviews
The Seminal Work in Tool History, January 30, 2002
Reviewer: Gary R. Halstead from Northern VA USA
During his lifetime, Henry Mercer was a lawyer, archaeologist, museum curator, promoter of lost crafts, and collector of a museum's worth (literally) of assorted stuff. One of his many interests was early American woodworking tools.

Ancient Carpenter's Tools is a comprehensive look at 18th and 19th Century American woodworking tools. The book is divided into chapters by function (Measurement, Shaping, etc.) and then by type of tool. As American tools were heavily influenced by their European ancestors, Mercer also includes a history of each tool with references to Medieval and Classical tools. Each tool is illustrated with photographs and drawings.

While this book was originally published in the 1920's (and occasionally shows its age) it remains useful for any student of tool history.

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