A recent acquisition has fixed my attention. After unsuccessfully digging through online archives for high-res images from Edward Hazen’s 1839 The Panorama of Professions and Trades; or Every Man’s Book, I finally caved and purchase a copy from the rare book market. I don’t typically purchase too many antique woodworking books as they can be quite pricey and I can usually get the one image I need from an institution who has it in the collection. (Not at all free, mind you…)
This book, however, has a number of delightful engravings of various trades that I couldn’t get anywhere else. I wanted large, crisp scans to bring out all the details. Having this book in hand, I am transfixed. These engravings are so crisp and so lovely. The descriptions Hazen provided for each trade are cursory, but a sound summary for the average reader.
I’m not sure of all the uses we will put this book to, but we do have a couple ideas.
– Joshua
