The heart of the 18th century remains the most expressive period for carpentry, furniture making and marquetry ever to emerge from skilled European hands. But for one man, these skills would have remained hidden, leaving today's researchers to guess how they achieved such quality workmanship. Its long being my desire to discover the contents of the worlds classic 5-volume treatise ever written about woodworking trades. Thanks to the vision of the French carpenter and draughtsman - Andre Jacob Roubo, in his collection under the embracing title "L'Art du Menuisier" (Art of the Carpenter), written between 1769 and 1774 are we able to fully understand the working techniques, the tools used and the materails available during those heady, yet highly expressive years.
Volume 1 - LE MENUISIER EN BATIMENT (Carpentry in buildings) - 640 pages
Volume 2 - LE MENUISIER EN MEUBLES (movable furniture making) - 224 pages
Volume 3 - LE MENUISIER EBENISTE (marquetry and parquetry) - 344 pages
Volume 4 - LE MENUISIER CARROSSIER (carriage/coach building) - 208 pages
Volume 5 - LE MENUISIER DES JARDINS (garden furniture/fittings) - 368 pages
The only prohibiting factor about the above works is that, as yet, they are only available in the French language. Facsimile copies are still in print, illustrating the popularity and demand for the works after some 230 years, since first publication. Now, thanks to a talented translator and friend, Beatrice Wickens (prefers Bee), a retired French teacher, the 'Ebeniste' - volume 3, is currently been translated. The second trawl through the work is to examine the technical words and phrases that don't appear in modern or 18th century dictionaries. These words consist of names for woodworking techniques, sometimes common to the areas around Paris where Roubo lived, or woodworking vernacular terms for tools that will never appear in any dictionary. For instance he talks about creating cavities in wood using a Guimbarde, a word that does not appear in any dictionary that Bee could find, but fortunately, Roubo goes on to say that the tool is also known as 'the old woman's tooth'. This phrase, to anyone not familiar with historic woodworking jargon, would not have an inkling what he was talking about. Not only was I familiar with the phrase, but I have such a tool handed down through my family - its a hand-held router. Christopher Schwarz- editor of the Woodworking Magazine and Popular Woodworking in the US, together with a French speaking colleague and woodworker Bjenk Ellersen have commenced translation of Volume 1 - Carpenter and published the initial translations on the Lost Art Press website.
Translation of volume 3 - Ebeniste will, when finished, help me with my research into 18th century marquetry practises and related subjects associated with woodcraft.
Jack Metcalfe - revised October 2009