Books

Practical Carriage Building by M.T. Richardson

This combined reprint of Volumes 1 and 2 of the 1892 edition of the Practical Carriage Building is perhaps the most complete and accurate contemporary work on the subject.  It covers in great depth, and with many illustrations, the materials and tools used, the making and construction, axles, yokes, whiffletrees, patterns and layouts, and many other useful and fascinating subjects.  All sorts of carriages are discussed: buggies, cabriolets and broughams, phaetons, rockaways, as well as sleighs and sleds, and express, delivery, and farm wagons.  A definitive, easy to follow reference on this early trade that is now enjoying a well-deserved renaissance.  512 pages.  Fully illustrated.  5 1/2" x 8 1/2".  Soft cover.  $24.95 PPD.


Practical Carriage and Wagon Painting, by M.C. Hillick, Introduction by Merri M. Ferrell

Today's collectors who seek instruction on painting and decorating their vehicles can do no better than to read this reprint of M.C. Hillick's book on the subject.  The book, organized not unlike the instruction of an apprenticeship, is divided into 16 chapters: The Shop and Its Equipment; Buy, Using, and Preserving Brushes; The Surfacing Stage of Painting; Colors; The Application of Colors to Surfaces; Painting; Lettering; Monograms; Painting and the Modern Business Wagon; Repainting and Revarnishing Vehicles; A Practical Study of Materials, Painting Cutters and Sleighs; and Facts and Formulas from the Paint Shop Diary.  The book is full of beautiful ornaments, lettering and striping--all of great help to the carriage, wagon or sleigh collector/restorer, the sign painter, the graphic artist, or simply those who seek a unique and intimate insight into the aesthetics of 19th and early 20th century material culture.  180 pages.  6" x 9" soft bound.  Illustrated throughout.  $17.95 PPD.