CARPENTRY MADE EASY; OR, THE SCIENCE AND ART OF FRAMING, was written by William E. Bell of Ottawa, Illinois and published by Howard Challen of Philadelphia in 1858. It remained in continuous publication through 1904, evidence of the book's importance to the architectural and building trades of the period. CARPENTRY MADE EASY was the first 19th century architectural trade book to popularize the transition from heavy timber frame to light balloon frame construction. Although not the first book to introduce balloon frame construction, CARPENTRY MADE EASY was the first technical book to thoroughly describe the method in such a way as to allow the skilled practical carpenter to readily apply this affordable building method. Included in CARPENTRY MADE EASY were the various major framing methods of the period for everything from small house construction through to barns, mills, church steeples and bridges. William E. Bell was a trained carpenter and joiner who described himself as an "Architect and Practical Builder," a term which at that time referred to someone who specialized in both building design and on-site construction. It was his careful selection of the 126 illustrations contained in 38 full page engraved plates, accompanied by technically precise explanations that any skilled carpenter could follow and learn from, that proved to be the deciding factor in the popularity of CARPENTRY MADE EASY.

Originally published in 1910, this unusual book is about making furniture by hand using old boxes and crates. From the author's preface: "Two summers on the island of Spitzbergen taught me, more than all previous experiments, the latent possibilities of a box. Our camp was located seven hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle; Hammerfest, Norway, 535 miles to the southeast, was the nearest point from which supplies could be obtained. Ice and snow cut off the settlement from the outside world for eight months of the year. The provisions and other equipment necessary for the camp of eighty miners and workmen had to be carried in boxes on the ships that came from the mainland during the four summer months. When the portable house which was to be the home of the manager, his wife, and myself as their guest, had been put up and the supplies unpacked, the boxes began to accumulate. ... No lumber was available in Spitzbergen. ... cut off from materials the possibilities of the box seemed greater than ever, and the work, which daily grew in interest, commenced. As I worked in that far-off marvelous land of continuous day, surrounded by mountains and glaciers, I felt anew the truth, so familiar to all, that work to be of real value must be honest, useful, and beautiful..." With instructions on how to make 100 different items of useful furniture from boxes and cargo crates; including jardiniere, plant box, footstool, clock case, wall rack, washstand, bookcases, desk, game table, umbrella stand, nursery table, picture frames, corner seats, etc. etc.