The book I’ve been working on for the past five years, researching the work of Jonathan Fisher is now at the printer! Thanks to the support of my publisher, Lost Art Press, the wise advice of colleagues, and generous research grants from the Early American Industries Association and the Society of American Period Furniture Makers, this labor of love has, at long last, become a reality. The publisher, Lost Art Press, has now opened pre-publication ordering for this book which will arrive mid-August.
You can order your copy here.
I began writing a blurb about the book but decided I couldn’t improve on what Chris Schwarz (my editor) wrote:
“Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847) was the first settled minister of the frontier town of Blue Hill, Maine. Harvard-educated and handy with an axe, Fisher spent his adult life building furniture for his community. Fortunately for us, Fisher recorded every aspect of his life as a woodworker and minister
on the frontier.
In this book, author Joshua A. Klein, the founder of Mortise & Tenon Magazine, examines what might be the most complete record of the life of an early 19th-century American craftsman. Using Fisher’s papers, his tools and the surviving furniture, Klein paints a picture of a man of remarkable mechanical genius, seemingly boundless energy and the deepest devotion. It is a portrait that is at times both familiar and completely alien to a modern reader – and one that will likely change your view of furniture making in the early days of the United States.
“Hands Employed Aright” is printed in the United States. Its 288 pages are in full color and on heavy coated paper. The pages are sewn for durability, hardbound and covered in a full-color dust jacket.”
You can order this book here. Thank you for your support!
- Joshua