| Publisher | Year | ISBN |
| Independent Pub. Group | 2006 reprint of 1922 | 1892836289 |
Paul Womack
This (in the UK) was pretty much the cabinet makers bible between 1909 (1st edition) and 1938 (fifth edition).
The last (6th edition) came out in 1952, but had been rewritten to emphasize man made material and machine tools. Not the same at all. It was succeeded by "Encyclopedia of Furniture Making" By Ernest Joyce as the standard reference. Back to the earlier book; this review is of editions 1-5, which do not vary significantly.
This not a book for tool-a-holics; it does indeed have good introductory chapters on which tool is which, but is quite brief (by galoot standards). We then move to "work shop" techniques, which is again brief, but with interesting points "in passing".
The bulk and purpose of the book tells you how to MAKE furniture. It describes the design of furniture, with fully dimensioned plans - in some cases the plans are printed on separate glossy paper and fold out. The joints and special constructional techniques for each piece are fully described. However, as the book progresses, techniques are only described once (obviously?).
The furniture covers a wide range, including lounge, office, shops, side tables, bookcases, paneling(!) etc. The examples chosen are all fine, often taken (with permission) from the catalogues of the best makers in Britain at the time. This was not aimed at amateurs; it was aimed at either technical colleges, as a reference (*not* a tutorial), or working cabinet shops (hence the quality of the example plans).
In short, if you know how to use tools, and want to make fine furniture, this is an excellent book; all 384 pages of it. It runs rather expensive in the s/h market, due (I think) to rarity.
(Ed. note: There is supposed to be a 2006 paperback reprint of the 1922 edition, which I have listed in the info box above.)