- Paperback: 258 pages
- Publisher: Cambridge University Press; New edition edition (26 Mar 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0521447720
- ISBN-13: 978-0521447720
- Product Dimensions: 21.5 x 13.5 x 1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,022,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
The Wheelwright's Shop
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'… a classic … Mr Sturt's masterpiece. A delightfully urbane and informing book, full of valuable material for the social historian and a sheer pleasure to read.' New Statesman
'It shows in the author a combination of the gifts of a handicraftsman, the actual maker of things, with the powers of a writer, in a way not common in English literature.' The Times Literary Supplement
'It shows in the author a combination of the gifts of a handicraftsman, the actual maker of things, with the powers of a writer, in a way not common in English literature.' The Times Literary Supplement
Product Description
George Sturt's frank and moving account of his trade as a wheelwright in the late nineteenth century offers a unique glimpse into the working lives of craftsmen in a world since banished by technology. The wheelwright's shop where he entered business had been operating for two centuries; this chronicle, first published in 1923, is a poignant record of that tradition, written as it was passing into history. E. P. Thompson's new foreword acclaims the significance of Sturt's engaging narrative as a vital document in the history of labour at the turn of the century. '… a classic … Mr Sturt's masterpiece. A delightfully urbane and informing book, full of valuable material for the social historian and a sheer pleasure to read.' New Statesman 'It shows in the author a combination of the gifts of a handicraftsman, the actual maker of things, with the powers of a writer, in a way not common in English literature.' The Times Literary Supplement
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
THE title-deeds to the property referred to in this book begin with an indenture of the 17th October, 1706, on which date Robert Hewitt, yeoman, and his wife Joan, in consideration of five shillings paid to them in hand, agree to sell fifteen rods of hop-ground to George Draper, wheel-maker. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
THE title-deeds to the property referred to in this book begin with an indenture of the 17th October, 1706, on which date Robert Hewitt, yeoman, and his wife Joan, in consideration of five shillings paid to them in hand, agree to sell fifteen rods of hop-ground to George Draper, wheel-maker. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brought my family past alive,
This review is from: The Wheelwright's Shop (Paperback)
Having found I come from a long line of wheelwrights, but having no craft experience myself, I bought this book in the hope it would shed some light on the lives of my ancestors.I was not disappointed. As well as giving a useful level of insight into techniques and the working environment it explores the very nature of craft work - the author was obviously a thinker as well as a doer! The book is also populated by some remarkable characters, the like of whom we may never see again (and which modern society sadly lacks). Sturt does more than provide a technical treatise on wheelwrighting though. The theme of skill versus learning is woven into the fabric of the book and is a welcome counter to our modern ideology. There are glimpses too of a business world before MBAs, multi-nationals or corporate UK and, as a psychologist (and reading between the lines a bit), I was surprised to find it also explains some aspects of modern behaviour by putting them in an historical context. Although Sturt's writing style may now seem dated and insufficiently politically correct to some, this book is a veritable treasure of social and occupational history. Before reading it I was almost ashamed of my imagined 'working-class' ancestry, now I am extremely proud of my forebears, the sort of work they did and their part in keeping England moving. I also have to say I have been enriched as a person through reading this. I hope this little gem never goes out of print...
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
too much opinion, not enough fact,
By
This review is from: The Wheelwright's Shop (Paperback)
From a woodworker's perspective, the technical details are a little scanty. Sturt repeatedly says he doesn't want to go into dull technicalities, but I suspect there are areas he doesn't (actually) know about; Sturt was never a wheelwright. He owned and ran a wheelwrights shop. Still, as an observer and sometime "boy" (unskilled assistant) he did pick up enough to be of use to the men.
He was also strongly influenced by Ruskin (and presumably William Morris). Sadly, we later find out that he was not a good enough socialist to convert his men (they worked in a leisurely fashion), and not a good enough capitalist either (his attempt at forming a cartel led to losing customers when it was publicised by a potential cartel member!). There is far too much of Sturt's semi digested philosophy, and not enough simple narrative to make this a great book, although there is good stuff in there, in places. The book this should have been, happily exists; it's "The Village Carpenter" by Walter Rose.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews) 13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
This is an abriged edition,
By M. Wiedmer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Wheelwright's Shop (Paperback)
George Sturt's original work provided an unparalleled glimpse into the work, lives, and social environment of craftsmen at the end of the transition from the English craft to the modern industrial economy. The edition offered here is an abridged version of the original; retaining most of the how-to elements, but excluding the insights into the lives and characters of the craftsmen working in the Wheelwright's Shop. If all that interests you are how wagon wheels where constructed, the abridged version will suffice. If you want to understand the revolutionary transition from the craft tradition to the era of unskilled industrial mass production, then continue searching for Sturt's complete text.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Old Way is the Good Way,
By Rod White - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Wheelwright's Shop (Canto original series) (Paperback)
If you wanted to sit down with a wheelwright from a couple hundred years ago and keep your mouth shut and listen to every bit of wisdom he had to impart ... that's what this book is about. Read (listen) to non-rocket science about what makes a wheel work and how to either make or not make dumb mistakes.Valuable information about general wood working that applies not only to wheels. Or if you're a history buff, how wooden wheels once fit into everyday life. 7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An Amazon FOUL - I paid $40 for an abridged, shortened version ?!?!,
By Travisji Corcoran "anarcho-capitalist" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Wheelwright's Shop (Craftsman) (Hardcover)
I quite enjoyed this, until, after reading it, I went online and searched for more information ... and found the complete book, scanned in ... and realized that I had been sold an abridged version, that left out half of the content!
I don't mind spending $40 for a book...but I really dislike getting an overly slim volume, and NOWHERE being told ahead of time that it's had material missing. Shame on Amazon and shame on Obscure Press. |
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