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Product Description
Review
Illustrated celebration of traditional British crafts which examines the techniques at the heart of trades. Featuring woodcraft, thatching, weaving, stone masonry, metalwork and glassmaking. It accompanies a major primetime BBC tv series presented by Monty Don --The Bookseller
It showcases the lives and the work of the master craftsmen and women in the series, and explains the techniques at the heart of their trades --Dorset Echo
…you will love this book… This is a lovely book that will strike a chord with anyone who appreciates the pleasing results of a hand crafted object compared to something mass produced. --NFU Countryside
…striking photographs… …shows why our traditional crafts are worth preserving. --The Countryman
Whether you want inspiration to get started on a craft yourself, or merely want to enjoy the skills of others, this delightful book is a must. --unknown author
Practicalities and basics of the crafts are explained […] find a useful list of organisations and training opportunities --The Landsman
a celebration of Britain's craftmanship […] The photography is outstanding, vividly illustrating the text throughout. --Dorothy Organ
Mastercrafts reveals the genius of the craftsman, demonstrates the value of locally sourced, hand-crafted objects and celebrates the great tradition of British craftsmanship. --Countryman's Weekly
a celebration of Britain's craftmanship […] The photography is outstanding, vividly illustrating the text throughout. --Dorothy Organ
Product Description
This is a major new exploration of traditional British craftsmanship, accompanying the prime time BBC TV series presented by Monty Don. Mastercrafts gave the opportunity for apprentices in six traditional crafts to learn intensively from a master.
It was a chance to sample a different way of life, to immerse themselves in the tools and materials of their craft, to create something lasting and worthwhile and be part of the long tradition of British craftsmanship.
It was a chance to sample a different way of life, to immerse themselves in the tools and materials of their craft, to create something lasting and worthwhile and be part of the long tradition of British craftsmanship.
Featuring the six masters, the book follows each of the crafts metalwork, woodcraft, stonework, thatching, glass making and weaving and tells their fascinating stories. Discover where the raw materials come from, how they are processed, how the craftsmen work, and what tools and techniques they use.
Each chapter also celebrates the long traditions of craftsmanship, exploring the key developments in history, how the skills evolved down the centuries and discovering the great masterpieces created.
In these days of mass production and synthetic materials we are increasingly drawn to the qualities of traditional craftsmanship the sustainable nature of the work and the materials used, and the pride and value imbued in the handmade items produced.
Mastercrafts reveals the genius of the craftsman, demonstrates the value of locally sourced, hand-crafted objects and celebrates the great tradition of British craftsmanship.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
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I only saw one of the BBC Mastercrafts programs that this book accompanies, however that isn't important as the book only makes fleeting references to the programs and is in addition to the programs, it doesn't repeat them.
Whilst the TV programs concentrated on novices learning each of the crafts the book concentrates on the history and follows a practitioner of each of the crafts. The crafts are:-
Metalwork
Woodwork
Stonework
Thatching
Glassmaking
Weaving
Each craft is beautifully illustrated with copious photographs.
The book has a comprehensive list of Trade Bodies, suppliers, practitioners and Training Courses.
It is difficult to define who this book will appeal to, it is essentially a "coffee-table book" to dip into from time to time. Being born in the 50s I did Metalwork and Woodwork at school so I've used a forge, cast metal and turned wood on a lathe so I know how satisfying that can be. I also did a day course on stained-glass making which is highly enjoyable, my wife and I have two stained-glass plaques which hang in our windows! If this book provides the initial inspiration to go out and try one of the crafts, then that's not a bad thing!
Whilst the TV programs concentrated on novices learning each of the crafts the book concentrates on the history and follows a practitioner of each of the crafts. The crafts are:-
Metalwork
Woodwork
Stonework
Thatching
Glassmaking
Weaving
Each craft is beautifully illustrated with copious photographs.
The book has a comprehensive list of Trade Bodies, suppliers, practitioners and Training Courses.
It is difficult to define who this book will appeal to, it is essentially a "coffee-table book" to dip into from time to time. Being born in the 50s I did Metalwork and Woodwork at school so I've used a forge, cast metal and turned wood on a lathe so I know how satisfying that can be. I also did a day course on stained-glass making which is highly enjoyable, my wife and I have two stained-glass plaques which hang in our windows! If this book provides the initial inspiration to go out and try one of the crafts, then that's not a bad thing!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Vine™ Review
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I liked watching the series on TV, to see how the crafts that were once the way of life for the whole village have all but disappeared with the onslaught of modernistation and technology.
If you have not seen the TV series, there are the crafts of metalwork, woodcraft, stonework, thatching, glass making and weaving where 3 people want to learn the trade. They have 6 weeks to learn the trade from a master crafter and at the end they are judged on their end results. This book goes nicely with the series. Some of the pictures in the book show the trainees and there is a more detailed story about the master crafter.
I found this book to be quite compelling in places, especially when it told the story of how the crafts were in the past and showed photos of the different places as examples of the crafts. However, I thought that the book could have offered a bit more than what it did.
So, overall, a great accompanying book that lacks the finer details of the crafts in talks about.
If you have not seen the TV series, there are the crafts of metalwork, woodcraft, stonework, thatching, glass making and weaving where 3 people want to learn the trade. They have 6 weeks to learn the trade from a master crafter and at the end they are judged on their end results. This book goes nicely with the series. Some of the pictures in the book show the trainees and there is a more detailed story about the master crafter.
I found this book to be quite compelling in places, especially when it told the story of how the crafts were in the past and showed photos of the different places as examples of the crafts. However, I thought that the book could have offered a bit more than what it did.
So, overall, a great accompanying book that lacks the finer details of the crafts in talks about.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Mastercrafts: Rediscover British Craftsmanship
This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in craftsmanship and the work which practitioners of these skills follow to produce the beautiful objects which we see. In this day and age a lot of people are fearing that these valuable skills are being eroded and lost to modern industrial manufacture so I think that books such as this are vital in that they say that these skills are not lost and any one of us can study and practice and learn these for ourselves, not necessarily as a money making exercise (although that is possible) but simply because these bring satisfaction and wholeness to the human spirit. Speaking as an IT person I have gained more enjoyment and satisfaction in the simple wood-work projects I have undertook than anything i have ever done with computers.
The book focuses on six main areas of craftsmanship; Stonework, Thatching, Woodwork, Glassmaking. Metalwork and Weaving. Together these form a very wide band of experise which whilst lost to
modern day living is most definitely not lost in terms of the fact the people to this day practice this skills in the traditional and beautiful ways of old England producing beautiful work which will last.
Each chapter in the book follows more-or-less the same format, first discussing the raw-material from which the art and practice descends. So with woodwork we discuss forests, then trees amd what trees grow in different forests in the UK. From here there is a long discussion on the traditional tools used to work such words. So we can read about tools such as the adze and saw pits; which are a far cry from modern tools available from Homebase. I am always awed by the mastery some people show when they can carve or make such wonderful things using hand-tools when others (such as I) have to work so hard using electric tools to achieve a less than perfect effect.
Moving on from the wood and the tools to work the wood (or the equivilent for other crafts) we need to understand what techniques exist to work the wood. Thus with wood we begin to learn about the various broad categories of skill needed to work; these are the different classes of skill needed to turn the raw material into an object of desire.
Each chapter also features an interview with a Master-crafts man. These are all with people who have spent decades practicing the work and show some of the things they are capable of doing with such skills. These are often all people like any of us who live a tiresome life in the rat-0race and dream of escaping to a simpler less burdened and much more fulfilled life. This is vital is it shows us the first step in understanding that we can make a living doing these things; and to help us do this there is a list of resources.
Speaking as someone who sadly missed the TV series, I think that this well-produced book would make an excellent present for anyone interested the above subjects. It is readable and informative and illustrated with copious photographs which show the depth of research understaken for this book.
Really really recommended
This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in craftsmanship and the work which practitioners of these skills follow to produce the beautiful objects which we see. In this day and age a lot of people are fearing that these valuable skills are being eroded and lost to modern industrial manufacture so I think that books such as this are vital in that they say that these skills are not lost and any one of us can study and practice and learn these for ourselves, not necessarily as a money making exercise (although that is possible) but simply because these bring satisfaction and wholeness to the human spirit. Speaking as an IT person I have gained more enjoyment and satisfaction in the simple wood-work projects I have undertook than anything i have ever done with computers.
The book focuses on six main areas of craftsmanship; Stonework, Thatching, Woodwork, Glassmaking. Metalwork and Weaving. Together these form a very wide band of experise which whilst lost to
modern day living is most definitely not lost in terms of the fact the people to this day practice this skills in the traditional and beautiful ways of old England producing beautiful work which will last.
Each chapter in the book follows more-or-less the same format, first discussing the raw-material from which the art and practice descends. So with woodwork we discuss forests, then trees amd what trees grow in different forests in the UK. From here there is a long discussion on the traditional tools used to work such words. So we can read about tools such as the adze and saw pits; which are a far cry from modern tools available from Homebase. I am always awed by the mastery some people show when they can carve or make such wonderful things using hand-tools when others (such as I) have to work so hard using electric tools to achieve a less than perfect effect.
Moving on from the wood and the tools to work the wood (or the equivilent for other crafts) we need to understand what techniques exist to work the wood. Thus with wood we begin to learn about the various broad categories of skill needed to work; these are the different classes of skill needed to turn the raw material into an object of desire.
Each chapter also features an interview with a Master-crafts man. These are all with people who have spent decades practicing the work and show some of the things they are capable of doing with such skills. These are often all people like any of us who live a tiresome life in the rat-0race and dream of escaping to a simpler less burdened and much more fulfilled life. This is vital is it shows us the first step in understanding that we can make a living doing these things; and to help us do this there is a list of resources.
Speaking as someone who sadly missed the TV series, I think that this well-produced book would make an excellent present for anyone interested the above subjects. It is readable and informative and illustrated with copious photographs which show the depth of research understaken for this book.
Really really recommended
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Beautiful photography
This book describes, over 250 pages, the history of England's traditional building skills. It covers stonework, thatching, woodwork, glass making, metalwork and weaving, and... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mike J
Informative accompaniment to the series
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book before receiving it but I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Richard Earle
Fascinating insight into real craftsmanship
This is a really delightful book based on the BBC series of the same name. I had only managed to catch a few of the episodes when they were on the telly but that didn't diminish my... Read more
Published 19 months ago by josie82
Old Crafts Should Never Die - Just Mature With Age...
I really liked the series presented by Monty Don...showing that although these crafts are seemed to be done in the minority of what they used to be, that it can be taught and kept... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Martin Swift
A fascinating read
This lavishly illustrated book takes the premise of the BBC TV series and expands on each craft, looking at the history and developments over the years. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Norman Cheeseworthy
Return to the old ways
This is an fantastic book for anyone interested in crafts from yesteryear. The book looks at: stonework, thatching, woodwork, glass making, metalwork and weaving. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Lily
Mastercrafts - Review
The book is intended to complement the BBC series of the same name, although there is not much reference made in the book to the programme - there are photographs taken as stills... Read more
Published on 26 May 2010 by sb
Give it a go
I missed the TV series this book is based upon... and now I wish I hadn't!
If you're at all interested in any of the crafts covered in this book then there'll be... Read more
If you're at all interested in any of the crafts covered in this book then there'll be... Read more
Published on 21 April 2010 by Grev
Beautifully presented, but not exciting to read
I only saw one episode from the TV series that this book accompanies, but having enjoyed that and being somebody who is interested in traditional and rural skills I was very keen... Read more
Published on 20 April 2010 by J. S. Hardman
Some interesting facts but a tad dull
I was really looking forward to this book as I had some some of the TV programmes and found them fascinating. Read more
Published on 20 April 2010 by trishthedish
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