The Iron Spokeshaves and Related Tools Manufactured by Edward Preston & Sons by Joe Stankus.
This book is 116 pages of concentrated and detailed information about the subject matter. It is extensively illustrated with colour photography and illustrations showing patents and advertisements for Preston products. It is clearly a labour of love from a keen collector.
It starts with a brief history of the firm, covers patents and design patents granted to Preston and then goes on to list with illustrations (where available) of all known models of spokeshave and spokeshave-like tools (e.g. quirk routers, chamfer shaves etc.) produced by Edward Preston & Sons.
This privately published book is therefore probably the guide to the subject. It’s clearly a must for any collector and of interest to people like this reviewer who just wanted to find out more about the couple of Preston shaves which he owns. (I am now happy in the knowledge that my chamfer shave was manufactured between 1910 and 1913.) The book does not try to explain or illustrate how the various tools were actually used (something which might change in possible subsequent editions of the book according to Jo Stankus).
I suspect that it will be snapped up by those with an interest in the subject matter and that that will probably lead to additional information being passed on to the author for incorporation into future editions. It’s striking how much knowledge about old tools and perhaps more importantly, their use, becomes lost. This sort of book is important in countering that. If you are interested in the subject, it is a must.
This book is 116 pages of concentrated and detailed information about the subject matter. It is extensively illustrated with colour photography and illustrations showing patents and advertisements for Preston products. It is clearly a labour of love from a keen collector.
It starts with a brief history of the firm, covers patents and design patents granted to Preston and then goes on to list with illustrations (where available) of all known models of spokeshave and spokeshave-like tools (e.g. quirk routers, chamfer shaves etc.) produced by Edward Preston & Sons.
This privately published book is therefore probably the guide to the subject. It’s clearly a must for any collector and of interest to people like this reviewer who just wanted to find out more about the couple of Preston shaves which he owns. (I am now happy in the knowledge that my chamfer shave was manufactured between 1910 and 1913.) The book does not try to explain or illustrate how the various tools were actually used (something which might change in possible subsequent editions of the book according to Jo Stankus).
I suspect that it will be snapped up by those with an interest in the subject matter and that that will probably lead to additional information being passed on to the author for incorporation into future editions. It’s striking how much knowledge about old tools and perhaps more importantly, their use, becomes lost. This sort of book is important in countering that. If you are interested in the subject, it is a must.
