In the past, studies of the history of bookbinding were mainly concerned with the exterior decoration. This book focuses attention primarily on the physical aspects of the binding and its construction principles. It is an expanded version of a series of lectures delivered by the author while Visiting Professor at the University of Amsterdam in 1987, supplemented with the results of ten years of intensive research in major libraries on the Continent, the United Kingdom and the USA. It surveys the evolution of binding structures from the introduction of the codex two thousand years ago to the close of the Middle Ages. Part I reviews the scanty physical evidence from the Mediterranean heritage, the early Coptic, Islamic and Ethiopian binding structures and their interrelation with those of the Byzantine realm. Part II is devoted to a detailed analysis of Western binding techniques, distinguishing the carolingian, romanesque and gothic wooden-board bindings as the main typological entities; their structure and function is compared with those of contemporary limp bindings. The book is illustrated with over 200 drawings and photographs and contains a comprehensive bibliography.

From the 17th century, ajami decoration was prevalent in the interior adornment of the houses of Damascene merchants and notables. This study, done from the stylistic, historical - as well as the technical, points of view, has resulted in a unique and valuable document on the history of Damascus decoration.

This title offers a fresh take on the craft of woodburning by focusing on the drawing, lettering and design elements that will add dimension and composition to any pyrography project. Pompano shares 5 tips on how to create a vast variety of dimension, shade and texture with your woodburner and how to develop your drawing skills for use in pyrography. The patterns cover a wide spectrum of themes including; harvest, wildlife, seaside and much more. The book includes two practice exercises, one step-by-step project and close-up instruction on lettering.

When the stresses of modern life get too much, what could be better than gathering a few simple tools, heading into the woods and literally whittling away a few hours? The gentle art of whittling is a relaxing and absorbing hobby that can be enjoyed almost anywhere from round the campfire to in a cozy armchair at home. All you need is a good pocket knife, a piece of wood and your imagination. Projects can range from the delightfully simple to impressively intricate--it's up to you. Woodland Whittling guides you through the basics explaining what equipment you need, how to hold the knife, and what timber to use. The projects are then all described in detail with clear step-by-step photographs. Projects include: letter opener, thumb stick, ring tree and egg cup.

From hand-forged axes of the Viking conquests to the American homesteader's felling axe, this is a tool that has shaped human history like few others. American Axe pays tribute to this iconic instrument of settlement and industry, with rich history, stunning photography, and profiles of the most collectible vintage axes such as The Woodslasher, Keen Cutter, and True Temper Perfect. Combining his experiences as a forester, axe collector, and former competitive lumberjack, author Brett McLeod conveys the allure of this deceptively simple woodcutting implement and celebrates the resurging interest in its story and use.

This essential book will show you everything you need to know to create beautifully handmade scroll saw art and wooden signs. Featuring comprehensive sections on tools, materials, scroll saw basics, safety, and troubleshooting, equip yourself with the essential skills needed before you dive into the sign-making technique sections. From the basics, like cutting lettering, adding a graphic and painting to the more challenging skills of using epoxy resin, engraving and woodburning, you’ll have a blast building your woodworking skills and seeing all the possibilities of what you can make. This book includes step-by-step projects to try, as well as practice patterns. Perfect for housewarming and wedding gifts, nurseries, and other personalized keepsakes both for you and your family and friends, this exciting and fun guide to sign-making will inspire your DIY projects and original designs for years to come.

Guilloche is the decorative engraving of a metal surface, such as watch cases, cufflinks, or Faberge Eggs, with the use of a hand-powered device called a rose engine. This passionately researched book tracks the birth, decline, and revival of this endangered craft and features exclusive information from the world's few living professional guillocheurs, as well as an exploration of the distinction between guilloche and its forebearer, ornamental turning. The word "guilloche" was first used to describe details of ancient Greek columns, but the rose engine didn't appear until the mid-1700s, near the French-Swiss border. With a basic knowledge of this contraption, and the straight-line machine, aspiring guillocheurs can follow 21 pattern-cutting "recipes" to create several classic designs and discover endless possibilities for new concepts. Authoritative text, gallery and detail photographs, dynamic illustrations, and precise, hand-drawn renderings will assist and delight adventurous craftspeople, machinists and engineers, and steampunks alike.

Chess pieces and their boards are a thing of beauty that serious players often like to display around their home. The 15 one of a kind designs in this book are sure to become conversation pieces. The use of exotic woods and interesting designs will inspire woodworkers, chess players and scroll saw enthusiasts alike. Chess pieces and their boards are a thing of beauty that serious players often like to display around their home. The 15 one of a kind designs in this book are sure to become conversation pieces, like the Berlin, with its vertical board that mounts to the wall. Other patterns in the book are inspired by the beautiful cities of Paris, San Francisco and Venice. From classical to modern these chess sets will be cherished for years to come for their heirloom quality and high level of craftsmanship. The author's use of exotic woods and interesting designs are sure to inspire woodworkers, chess players and scroll saw enthusiasts alike.

Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages are now understood as times of extraordinary skill and creativity in the decorative arts. In the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) artists and craftsmen transitioned from 'Roman' to 'Byzantine' art and inspired a move from naturalism to a more hieratic and symbolic style, drawing on the deep artistic links connecting the Mediterranean world and the East. The many spectacular artefacts from this period in the Wyvern Collection are luxury objects, most commissioned by wealthy patrons or the Church, ranging in date from the fourth century to around 1300. Masterpieces of great significance for art history, including a 5th-century Artemis missorium, previously unpublished, and an 11th-century enamelled enkolpion from Constantinople are among the highlights of the collection. Other extraordinary objects - Late Roman chariot decorations, a stone funerary door from Syria and brooches brought across Europe by the families of Roman soldiers - complete this artistic panorama of the great Mediterranean and Persian civilizations, whose creative influence extended to the far west of the Islamic world. The catalogue, by Byzantine metalwork expert Marco Aimone, is augmented by three essays from technical specialists: Jack Ogden (enamelling), Peter Northover (metallurgy) and Erica Cruikshank Dodd (hallmarks). Rika Gyselen also contributes readings of Persian inscriptions.

This volume puts together a first-of-a-kind handbook, and contains the most important termini technici, expressions, and techniques connected to the traditional art of Persian calligraphy, calligraphy as well as related arts, like illumination, historiated painting, book binding, etc. The content is based on thirty prominent classical Persian treatises, composed between twelfth and twentieth centuries.

A guide to green woodworking, with detailed patterns to create beautiful projects. Discover hundreds of projects for working with unseasoned wood in this essential book. Ray Tabor, an unparalleled expert in green woodworking guides you through this old, traditional craft. Whether you are new to the craft and are looking for a simple project like a spoon or a bowl or want something challenging, you will find it here. The 300 patterns for the home and garden range from wattle gates to lemon juicers, from chairs, benches and stools to baskets, whistles and door wedges. Green woodworking involves the use of freshly felled timber (unseasoned wood), and embraces a number of traditional woodland crafts, including turning and carving. All patterns come with detailed dimensions in both metric and imperial. Each item has annotated black-and-white patterns, a brief description, historical information and details of the materials that should be used. Includes the simplest of woodland designs to more advanced, with something to suit every skill level. Both a historical record and a sourcebook for those looking to use their green woodworking skills to make traditional items of beauty, this is the perfect book for anyone interested in whittling, woodland crafts and woodworking.

The Art of Letter Carving in Wood is a thorough guide to this beautiful craft. Based on the v-cut method, it explains how to carve letters in a range of sizes, styles and different kinds of wood. The book progresses from the basic to the difficult, and from simply designing and carving letters to using them in a wide range of situations, from the purely practical and informative to the expressive and interpretative. Written by one of the UK's leading and most respected lettering artists, this book not only covers the process of letter carving in wood but also does much more by explaining how to convey a message effectively. It looks at every aspect of designing the piece - be that using italics, spacing the letters, using letters, using the grain or adding colour. With over 500 illustrations, it is the definitive text for all letter carvers in wood.

The ""iron lace"" that graces the businesses, homes, squares, and cemeteries of Mobile, Alabama, is as vital a part of that southern port city as it is of New Orleans, Charleston, and Savannah. Until now, its story has never been fully told. In this attractive volume, John S. Sledge's rich narrative, combined with evocative historic images and Sheila Hagler's stunning contemporary photographs, eloquently conveys as never before how ornamental cast iron defines Mobile's heart and soul. Cast iron was the wonder of the Victorian age, according to Sledge. In Mobile, the material's diverse applications were on display in hulking locomotives and boilers, flamboyant fountains, imposing fences, and endless other forms and structures. The city's ornate iron balconies, dozens of which still remain, elicited the greatest wonder, then as now. Local publications have long extolled Mobile's enchanting ironwork. Only now, however, has the subject been situated within national trends in design, industry, and consumer tastes. It is a colorful saga featuring rawboned iron founders, artisan slaves, hustling salesmen, conniving architects, willful plunderers, romantic artists, and dedicated preservationists. Drawing on rare surviving business records and other archival sources, Sledge skillfully reconstructs how the local iron industry developed and then fiercely competed with big northern foundries. As a working preservationist, Sledge pays particular attention to how many of Mobile's most splendid ornamental iron pieces have weathered hard times, natural disasters, and misguided development to remain a delight for tourists and residents alike. Hagler's beautiful photographs provide a powerful and sometimes moody visual accompaniment to this fascinating tale.

Hand carving is easy, satisfying and therapeutic when guided by Max Bainbridge. Create your own unique pieces and carve with confidence thanks to detailed information on tools, cutting techniques and clear step-by-step photography accompanying each project. Start with basic spoons, cooking spoons and spatulas, before moving onto butter knives, chopping boards and small bowls, with only a few simple tools required. Max also advises on the perfect finish for your projects - how to sand, ebonise, scorch and texture surfaces as well as waxing and oiling your new creations. Whether you are a novice or an experienced carver, this book will inspire you to make something that you will be proud of.

Jennifer Way's study The Politics of Vietnamese Craft uncovers a little-known chapter in the history of American cultural diplomacy, in which Vietnamese craft production was encouraged and shaped by the US State Department as an object for consumption by middle class America. Way explores how American business and commerce, department stores, the art world and national museums variously guided the marketing and meanings of Vietnamese craft in order to advance American diplomatic and domestic interests. Conversely, American uses of Vietnamese craft provide an example of how the United States aimed to absorb post-colonial South Vietnam into the 'Free World', in a Cold War context of American anxiety about communism spreading throughout Southeast Asia. Way focuses in particular on the part played by the renowned American designer Russel Wright, contracted by the US International Cooperation Administration's aid programs for South Vietnam to survey the craft industry in South Vietnam and manage its production, distribution and consumption abroad and at home. Way shows how Wright and his staff brought American ideas about Vietnamese history and culture to bear in managing the making of Vietnamese craft.

Animal Puzzles for the Scroll Saw - 2nd Edition is a newly expanded version of the wildly popular pattern book that scroll saw artists have come to love With over 50 patterns for upright standing and interlocking puzzles, woodworkers will have plenty of charming puzzles to sell at craft shows or to give to loved ones as special gifts. And with a handy getting started section that includes information to ensure success, new scrollers will learn how to choose wood, blades, to transfer patterns and more. Experienced scrollers will find useful information to customize patterns and to create their own patterns from personal photographs. New realistic patterns include a playful scene of 4 cats, a smart beagle, a lovely cairn terrier, a soulful American cocker spaniel, a fun rough collie, an alligator, adorable panda bear, Frisian pony, caribou, sly red fox, bison and others - each with full color photographs of the finished puzzles.

For apprentices and amateur metalworkers, this book is a practical, hands-on guide to engineering benchwork that teaches all the valuable hand tool skills and procedures for files, punches, hand filers, and more. Well-illustrated with concise technical diagrams, tables, and black and white photos, you'll learn all the tricks and gain a solid foundation in the basics of engineering benchwork that will become second nature over the course of your career as a metalworker. Not only are these proper practices essential knowledge to get started in the industry, but they will also save you spoiled work and tools.

Pyrography is the art of burning a design into wood using a heated metallic point. Most books on the market take a fairly traditional approach to the subject, limited to using pure burning onto a range of wooden surfaces. The Art of Pyrography goes far beyond this. Cherry Ferris takes the subject to new heights, incorporating mixed media, unusual supports and innovative techniques to elevate the craft to an artform. The book is suitable for beginners as well as more advanced pyrographers, and is well-suited to artists from other media who want to experiment with new ideas and incorporate pyrography into their practice. Pyrography machines are easily obtainable from online suppliers and major craft stores. The Art of Pyrography begins with an overview and history of the subject, a tools and equipment section, an introduction to the basic techniques and information on surfaces that you can safely burn. The book moves onto how to transfer designs onto surfaces and incorporate a mixed media approach by looking at shading techniques, introducing colour into your work, playing with backgrounds and how to finish, protect and display your finished pieces. Four shorter mini burns complement ten longer step-by-step projects that walk the reader through the techniques and materials used. A troubleshooting and safety section is also included, making this a one-stop shop to get all your pyrography questions answered. Chapters include: Colour: Incorporating coloured pencils, paint, and inks Using resin to finish your work - which results in a beautiful glass-like finish Using gold leaf to add a touch of magic.

Co-published in Association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London This book is a timely and engaging introduction to the way that artists working in all media think about craft. Workmanship is key to today's visual arts, when high 'production values' are becoming increasingly commonplace. Yet craft's centrality to contemporary art has received little serious attention from critics and historians. Dispensing with cliched arguments that craft is art, Adamson persuasively makes a case for defining craft in a more nuanced fashion. The interesting thing about craft, he argues, is that it is perceived to be 'inferior' to art. The book consists of an overview of various aspects of this second-class identity - supplementarity, sensuality, skill, the pastoral, and the amateur. It also provides historical case studies analysing craft's role in a variety of disciplines, including architecture, design, contemporary art, and the crafts themselves. Thinking Through Craft will be essential reading for anyone interested in craft or the broader visual arts.

Learn how to make beautiful, bespoke candles for you and your home in this easy-to-follow guide. Sarah Ditchfield, founder of Candle by Events, shares her secrets for crafting 20 of her best-selling candle designs, so that you too can make both modern and traditional waxed creations at home - from elegantly simple taper candles to show-stopping ice pillars. Invaluable advice is included on the essential materials and tools you'll need to get started, along with handy measuring and heating charts. Every candle project is accompanied by simple instructions, step-by-step photographs and a gorgeous finished picture. There's even a chapter on how to decorate and package your candles if you'd like to give them away as thoughtful, hand-crafted gifts. If you are looking for a craft that you can truly immerse yourself in, and one that's perfect for the beginner candlemaker looking for professional results, this is the book for you. This is a revitalized edition of Making Candles: Create 20 decorative candles to keep or to give (2017).