Customer Reviews

Forgotten Crafts: A Practical Guide

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I really thought this book would be about

1) The forgotten crafts
2) How to learn to do them

What I got was a lot of reminiscing and stories about how things were better before mean 'ol World War I came along and industrialized England. I absolutely agree, but the trouble is, Seymour never explains -how- to, say, make cloth dyes out of plants. I much prefer his other book, "The Self-Sufficient Life, and How to Live it"

It's hard not to be sympathetic to Seymour's complaint: we are surrounded by progressively more mass-produced, low-quality junk, while the true local craftsman has vanished. Nevertheless, anyone making a commitment to use nothing but the beautiful, handmade works of art described herein must needs divorce himself from the other benefits of our society. It would also require a large independent income.

Surely there are certain items that are functionally improved by mass production. A lowly item like the garden rake is best exemplified by the $20 metal-and-plastic version available at your local hardware store. You can subject it to all kinds of abuse, and when it fails, simply throw it away and replace it. The lovely wooden rake with its delicate tines that Seymour describes is best relegated to display only, not real-world use.

In his decrying the disappearance of craftsmanship, Seymour mainly limits himself to those crafts that have indeed vanished, or are about to. It would have added a positive note to include a few ancient crafts, such as luthier, that are alive and well in the present day.

The sad fact is that these crafts survived because there was no alternative. I have seen forge welders doing a brisk business in African villages, but as soon as an oxy-acetylene torch becomes available, the old craft is abandoned - it's simply too inefficient. The thatcher's art is alive and well over there also. Seymour's complaint is basically against progress, a fine sentiment for those able to afford it. It gradually becomes clear that the book is a lament for the author's vanished youth, as he describes the crafts that were commonplace at one time, and an integral part of his daily life.

The above should not be taken as negative criticism of the book. Seymour provides excellent descriptions and abundant clear diagrams to present this fascinating subject.

As a historical re-enactor, I found this book quite useful. Criticism that it doesn't go into great depth is noted, but I found that there were serious gaps in my knowledge that it helped bridge. In many cases, I was left muttering "so THAT'S how they did it..." It isn't meant to guide the reader step-by-step through any given craft, though some are given reasonably detailed coverage. The book is well-illustrated, and should give a person at least a notion of what to explore further through Google or other more tightly-focused reference books. For it to have more detail would require a considerably thicker (more expensive) book, or more likely several volumes.

Now if I can just find a bill-hook and a stand of willows I can sustainably harvest...