Thread: A late C17 classic available in digital form

Those who follow Christopher Schwarz (of Woodworking Magazine and Popular Woodworking) will have heard of Joseph Moxon - Schwarz's Lost Art Press has republished the booklet that Moxon compiled on the Art of Joinery in the last year or so.

Moxon actually published a whole bunch of pamphlets on trades in the late 1600s. One of his customers was Samuel Pepys. Moxon was a tradesman himself making globes etc. and later was elected to the Royal Society ( he had a hard job getting elected because he was in trade and not a gentleman or a scholar).

The pamphlets were collected by him and put out as the Mechanick Exercises. A digital facsimile of the 1703 edition of the work is now available from the Toolemera Press (Gary Roberts) for about $30 (Oz) - that includes postage (it is only a CD after all). One reason for getting this rather than (or in addition to the Schwartz facsimile) is that Moxon would describe a technique in a section on one trade (e.g Carpentry) and then not repeat that in another pamphlet if it was used in a second trade (e.g. Joinery) , so this way we get complete access to everything Moxon wrote about London's trades. It is also searchable.

I am not affiliated with Schwarz, Toolemera or anyone. Just thought that some of you might be interested in getting a copy tot he first stuff printed on our enthusiasm.