Joinery classic, With All the Precision Possible: Roubo on Furniture, to be published
Lost Art Press says it will publish the 18th-century wood joinery masterpiece, l’art du Menuisier [The Carpenter's Art] by André-Jacob Roubo, covering Roubo's writing on woodworking tools, the workshop, joinery and building furniture, in its first English translation, under the title, With All Precision Possible: Robou on Furniture.
The book represents a decade of work by an international team, and is a second volume of Roubo's work, covering his writing on woodworking tools, the workshop, joinery and building furniture. The translation was done by Donald C. Williams, Michele Pietryka-Pagán and Philippe Lafargue.
The translated text is accompanied by images from the original, along with five contemporary essays on Roubo’s writing by craftsmen Christopher Schwarz, Don Williams, Michael Mascelli, Philippe Lafargue and Jonathan Thornton.
"Roubo on Furniture is filled with insights into working wood and building furniture that are difficult or impossible to find in both old and modern woodworking books," the publishers say. Unlike other woodworking writers of the 18th century, Roubo was a traditionally trained and practicing joiner. He interviewed fellow craftsmen from other trades to gain a deep and nuanced view of their practices. Learning to draw, most of the illustrations in the book are from his own hand.
“Roubo on Furniture” is made entirely in the United States with quality binding and materials. All of the acid-free pages are sewn together and then bonded with a fiber tape so the book will not fall apart. The cover is a heavy and stiff board covered with cotton cloth. The book is 8.5 x 12-inch - the same width and height as its predecessor translation, Roubo on Marquetry and is 472 pages, almost 2 inches thick. It lists for $57 at Lost Art press.
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