Any Roubo scholars/bibliophiles?

The recent note by another poster on here about Lost Art Press and their beautiful reprints of some of Andre Jacob Roubo's 18th C work reminded me to cruise auction sites with some anticipation but no immediate peril: It does not look like original volumes of _L'Arte du Menuisier_ have gotten any cheaper over the years.

My question is, does anyone know if _Roubo Moderne_ /Editions H Vial is a complete compendium of the original work? (in 2 volumes instead of 4) Perhaps a bigger question is, can anyone comment on the paper quality used in the 20th C reproduction? 'Net representations make it look flimsy. OTOH copies tend to look relatively clean and not overly torn or crumbled as some early 20th c paperbacks do, made of cheap acidic papers.

FWIW, I'm not concerned about the language. While I can't speak French & archaic idiomatic terms may be difficult, I can read it fairly well, participate on a French/Swiss machining site, and tend to multitask with that sort of stuff: feel like an idiot, but hope it is doing my aging brain some good to stretch it.

My concerns: 1.) is the H Vial work a complete rendition of the original, in 2 volumes, with all the original plates? (should there be more than 2 vols?) 2.) is that specific 20th C repro durable, good paper, easily safe to handle, etc 3.) the size looks comparable to original?

Or, any other _complete_ copies, editions recommended?

Thanks!
smt

stephen:

I assume you're aware that the book has been scanned and is available to view online?

Here's Harvard's copy:

L'art de la menuiserie. . - Full View | HathiTrust Digital Library | HathiTrust Digital Library

Plates are there as well.

Regards,

DB

DB-

Thanks for that. It clarifies something for me, that the 1886 Juliot edition is in fact a later Roubo. That had not been clear to me. Those volumes are not necessarily out of reach economically. But I had not understood whether they were a different work (perhaps partially plagiarizing Roubo) or an advancement of the original as it appears to be.

I had been trying to use the NYPL online version,

NYPL Digital Collections

which is easier to navigate, and goes to earlier source material. But for whatever reason, it is extremely slow on my already slow net service. The Harvard later edition downloads rapidly, so i appreciate having that resource.

Thanks!
smt

I have several Editions Vial books, one of which is a reprint of an 1854 text - it is excellent. Overall, they are decent quality in terms of printing and binding, though sometimes the original works are not all that great themselves. I've looked at an 1854 original (not Roubo's work - a different text) and the Edition vial version certainly did it justice - appeared to use the original printing plates even.

Chris, thanks for the company review.

smt

Here's another link with more plates to add to the above.

https://archive.org/stream/gri_33125009321916#page/n333/mode/1up

Still have not found a complete-in-one-place work online.

smt

Resurrecting this to keep all the info in one place.

Well, I dithered too long, and Lost Art Press's 1st volume of their version sold out.

Deluxe Version of To Make as Perfectly as Possible: Roubo on Marquetry – Lost Art Press

It was only partly the price. I think a back corner of my mind is resistant to the facility of just browsing it in English translation. I have no doubt that anything Chris Schwartz puts his hand and mind to will be first class, and probably far beyond what anyone else would do, or will do in the next few decades, whatever subject he chooses. But having got beyond a lust for finding an original, I still think reading it in French is a good mind stretcher and somehow more "right" for me. Poor as I actually am in the subject.

Not only that, as near as I can tell, this is not the complete work. There are other volumes to come.

The fact that it was sold out when I was ready to pull the trigger made the choice easy, and something of a relief. & I will not be hostage to future volumes. I bought the book of plates which is still available, and really a steal if you ever touch on (work on) the type of things that Roubo drew and explained in the years just before his 30th birthday.

Andre Roubo’s The Book of Plates – Lost Art Press

The caveats on the website and in the forward in the Book of Plates are appropos. Most woodworkers will be able to look at many of the plates and understand them completely. But many of the plates have information best obtained from the text. Not only that, some plates, relate to things that didn't really exist, or existed as Roubo re-designed them. Chris's example is of the waving engine for making wavy moldings. From the pictures and diagrams, one would imagine there was one in every high end shop. But Chris points out that they had disappeared by Roubo's time, and he (Roubo) was imagining the best way to accomplish such a task and drawing the engine designs he may have imagined building; rather than reporting on actual tradecraft.

There are also more-or-less obsolete constructions. I did not know what a Chapier was, and I had been an altar boy. My wife said she had seen one when she was young, and she was never Catholic. No doubt some are still specified or were so until recently, and they may be common in Europe. There are sections on how to build the suspension for carriages. And more extensive trellis designs than anyone would replicate today. Lots of surprises like that.

The work (the craftsmanship of the book, and the clarity and printing of the full sized plates) is impeccable. Besides the development of books intended to conserve important knownlege not viable for popular presses, Lost Art Press's mission includes designing, printing, and binding them in the US.

Also, you probably noticed, the information in "To Make as Perfectly as Possible" is available in smaller format (actually about 1/2 size) in several less expensive versions.

To Make as Perfectly as Possible: Roubo on Marquetry – Lost Art Press

I have a number of Lost Art Press Books including also purchasing the 2 vol set of "The Woodworker" along with The Book of Plates.

The Woodworker: The Charles H. Hayward Years – Lost Art Press

I knew I didn't need it. But it is wonderful to have it. Would be a very good set for someone starting out with an interest in hand tools. It is an edited collection of articles which appeared over the decades spanning WW2 in an English woodworking magazine. Lots of duplication over the years so now 3 or 4 articles in a row on the same subject; but that is an advantage. You get to see how often people agreed on a technique, or consider options when they did not. Not much useful design, what it where is kind of clunky, like in Feirer's Furniture & Cabinetmaking book more commonly seen in the US. Some techniques are closer to carpentry, or sort of outdated, like kerf-to-bend when we would laminate solid stock in good work today. But it has its uses and there are insights in articles like that. Tons and tons of stuff on sharpening every version of wood tool. That alone would be invaluable to a beginner and to many practitioners with more experience.

There are some fascinating tid-bits, like the drill used to automatically generate a leaf shaped mortise (pointy, like a stylize maple or pin-oak leaf) for inlaying brass bindings on square stocks or similar. And one of the best collections of how to on basic hammer-veneering. with some of the critical points often glossed over in modern articles. Lots of repetition, lots of basics, still fun to look at the pictures and be reminded of the material.

To be sure, George Ellis' Modern Practical Joinery would be the best starter text for a beginning serious woodworker. But the Hayward collection is more accessible with less background; and probably less intimidating.

smt