THE CABINETMAKER’S ASSISTANT: a series of original designs for modern furniture, with descriptions and details of construction.Preceded by practical observations on the materials and manufacture of cabinet- workand instructions in drawing adapted to the trade, Blackie & Son: Glasgow 1853. (Originally published in parts from 1851.)
This magisterial volume with its long title and imposing size was probably the greatest book ever written to help the cabinet-maker with the actual mechanics of construction. It contains chapters on Drawing, Geometry and Perspective, Veneering, Carving and a treatise on a great number of cabinet timbers. This is followed by technical explanations of construction relating to the plates that constitute the last part of the book.
This approach was not entirely new. Sheraton had employed a similar template in his famous 'Drawing Book' in the 1790’s but the practicalities of construction and characteristics of timbers are played down. They were either jealously guarded or assumed to be known by experienced practitioners. The Cabinet Maker’s Assistant took the mechanics of construction and the study of the various woods into a new dimension.
The book reflected a new trend in the dissemination of information that followed The Great Exhibition of 1851. The word ‘modern’ in the title is the key to the book’s purpose. This was a book for a rapidly expanding world with a newly established global vision. (At the very least, a British Empire ‘global’ vision!) There is even a small description of the Cedar from New South Wales in the cabinet timbers section. By comparison, the discussion concerning Mahogany is a full ten pages in length.
Unlike Sheraton’s publications, this was a book concerned with practical application rather than showcasing contemporary patterns by a design personality, as Sheraton had been. By contrast, the plates in The Cabinet Maker’s Assistant were from several hands, the majority by one P. Thomson, about whom, we know very little.
This opens up the great mystery of the book…who wrote it? Blackie & Son were the publishers and no mention is made on the title pages of an author. Unlike Sheraton, Chippendale and others, there is no preface where the author speaks directly to the reader. Nevertheless the exacting information within the book must have come from someone who was an expert in the field. After 150 years the mystery was finally solved by Furniture Historians Jim and Cynthia Martin who came across a rare title, The Cabinet Maker’s Sketchbook, 1852 by Peter Thomson. On the title page he was described as also the author of The Cabinet Maker’s Assistant.
What emerges from this however is that this was a book about information rather than personalities and perhaps the lack of attribution was an expression of what was thought to be ‘modern’ as the title suggests. Even the layout of the book was ‘modern’ and reflected advances in printing techniques unknown in Sheraton’s day. Diagrams of construction were introduced “wherever they are deemed necessary” throughout the text and by comparison, the 18th century layout of Sheraton’s book with copious amounts of uninterrupted text referring to a single plate that appeared pages before, seems cumbersome and old fashioned.
Today this ground breaking book remains clear and easy to read. It is a wonderful book to hold in your hands and still has vital relevance for the traditional maker.