A Woodworking passage in literature...

[02blues]

A bit off beat however I think you hand tool guys will appreciate this. I am re reading My Antonia by Willa Cather. In it is a passage about a pioneer farm hand building a coffin on a prairie in Nebraska in the "dead" of winter. Although a bit morbid the description is wonderful. This is copied from the Project Gutenberg : it states that the material can be used for any purpose.

If anyone has a collection of similar passages from literary texts / fiction I would love to see them.
Enjoy....

Fuchs, who was the only cabinetmaker in the neighbourhood was set to work on a coffin.
Our heavy carpenter's bench had to be brought from the barn and carried
down into the kitchen. Fuchs selected boards from a pile of planks
grandfather had hauled out from town in the fall to make a new floor for
the oats-bin. When at last the lumber and tools were assembled, and the
doors were closed again and the cold draughts shut out, grandfather rode
away to meet the coroner at the Shimerdas', and Fuchs took off his coat
and settled down to work. I sat on his worktable and watched him. He did
not touch his tools at first, but figured for a long while on a piece of
paper, and measured the planks and made marks on them. While he was
thus engaged, he whistled softly to himself, or teasingly pulled at his
half-ear. Grandmother moved about quietly, so as not to disturb him. At
last he folded his ruler and turned a cheerful face to us.

'The hardest part of my job's done,' he announced.

All afternoon, wherever one went in the house, one could hear the
panting wheeze of the saw or the pleasant purring of the plane. They
were such cheerful noises, seeming to promise new things for living
people: it was a pity that those freshly planed pine boards were to be
put underground so soon. The lumber was hard to work because it was full
of frost, and the boards gave off a sweet smell of pine woods, as the
heap of yellow shavings grew higher and higher. I wondered why Fuchs
had not stuck to cabinet-work, he settled down to it with such ease and
content. He handled the tools as if he liked the feel of them; and when
he planed, his hands went back and forth over the boards in an eager,
beneficent way as if he were blessing them. He broke out now and then
into German hymns, as if this occupation brought back old times to him.

Seriously...Is that amazing or what???
I am a neanderthal for sure.

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[Gotcha6]

A very thoughtful piece of prose.
Reminds me that when I work I often talk to myself too.
Obviously, the author had some personal experience of the process.

[froglips]

Very stirring of the neanderthal blood.

I wonder if Grandma had a hand in Grandpa's half-ear

I suspect you might enjoy the next book Christopher Schwarz and Joel Moskowitz are soon to publish.....

In 1839, an English publisher issued a small book on woodworking that has – until now – escaped detection by scholars, historians and woodworkers.

Titled "The Joiner and Cabinet Maker," this short book was written by an anonymous tradesman and tells the fictional tale of Thomas, a lad of 13 or 14 who is apprenticed to a rural shop that builds everything from built-ins to more elaborate veneered casework. The book was written to guide young people who might be considering a life in the joinery or cabinetmaking trades, and every page is filled with surprises.

Unlike other woodworking books at the time, "The Joiner and Cabinet Maker" focuses on how apprentices can obtain the basic skills needed to work in a hand-tool shop. It begins with Thomas tending the fire to keep the hide glue warm, and it details how he learns stock preparation, many forms of joinery and casework construction. It ends with Thomas building a veneered mahogany chest of drawers that is French polished.

Jim

[02blues]

Actually the ear "job" was accomplished by Prof Plum, in the Billiard room with the candle stick....

I read about that book and will look for it. I have read and enjoyed several of Eric Sloane books too.

Thanks for the reference.

Wonder if my wife would let ME bring my bench into the kitchen...? Gee I wonder. Think I'll move it in while she is out. Might be to build my coffin though...?

[sapwood]

Thanks for the interesting read, John!
Lately I've been noting woodworking themed lyrics in music. Musicians range from Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) to Ras Alan. You can listen to Ras Alan's "Everyhouse" on this linky. He lives in Asheville and has developed his own music genre, "Appalachian Reggae". I promise it will make you smile

Roger

[D Sikes]

I listen to public radio in the mornings on my way to work and around 5:30 they do a poetry prose. The old guys voice is now the voice in my head anytime I read something like that... Nice, really makes me want to read the rest of the story now...

[02blues]

Originally Posted by D Sikes

I listen to public radio in the mornings on my way to work and around 5:30 they do a poetry prose. The old guys voice is now the voice in my head anytime I read something like that... Nice, really makes me want to read the rest of the story now...

Right. That would be a great one for them to read aloud. I am 2/3 through the book now. I am enjoying it though that is the only real reference to woodworking. If you want some old time wood working stories look into Eric Sloane's books. They are wonderful. I think " Diary of a young boy?" was one I really enjoyed.

The only other reference I found in My Antonia was when the farm boy Jim made fun of the poor lathe turnings used on the "city" porches...