Coopers and Coopering (Shire Library) [Paperback]

Kenneth Kilby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2008 | Series: Shire Library

Wooden casks (or barrels) are containers of exceptional strength, versatility and mobility but have become a rarity in Britain, displaced so completely by metal containers that it is hard to imagine their importance in former times. The coopers who made them were once numerous and independent craftsmen, while latterly many were employed by breweries. Their craft was not only economically vital but was physically demanding and required skill acquired only through years of practice. This book seeks to preserve the memory of their skills, tracing the history of the craft and describing and illustrating how a barrel was made.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ken Kilby is a Vice-President and founder members of the Tools and Trades History Society. He comes from a family of coopers, his great uncle founding the cooperage of Samuel Kilby & Sons of Banbury, Oxfordshire, in the 1860s. He worked as an apprentice under his father at the old brewery of J. W. Green's in Luton, Bedfordshire until 1967, when he abandoned 'the block' and went into teaching.

Product Details

• Paperback: 56 pages
• Publisher: Shire (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747805849
• ISBN-13: 978-0747805847
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 0.2 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,226,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Coopers and Coopering, October 5, 2008

By 

T. E. Holzinger "T.E.Holzinger" (Roanoke IN. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coopers and Coopering (Shire Library) (Paperback)

This is a quick read book with just enough info to get you started. I was looking for tool drawings and dimensions which it doesn't have, but the pictures are good to reverse engineer them.