Period Books

[DJH]

One of my other interests is old books especially ones about period architecture, crafts, gardening and plumbing or sanitary engineering as it was called years ago. Most of these books about sanitary engineering were written towards the end of the 19th century and the craft progressed rapidly following the death of Prince Albert through some dodgy plumbing work. The cowboys were around then as well!

Reading through the books it’s obvious that the authors are keen to put forward their methods and practices as the right ones to use and they weren’t above slagging off others who either contradicted them or whose methods they thought weren’t good enough.
One three volume st I have was written over a period of almost 50 years and the author, P J Davis says that he didn’t write about anything unless he’d actually carried out the work for himself.



One of the fascinating things about these old books is that they sometimes carried adverts at the back and sometimes the front of the books.
Here’s one with a well dodgy chap pumping up pressure in some even more dodgy equipment to go leadwelding. I wonder how many blew up? :shock:



Bizarrely at the back of the first edition of volume two he lists a glossary of obsolete and trade words which are not included in later editions.



Does anyone know what ‘brass me up’ means?

Doug

 

[DJH]

Here's Mr Davis himself. Now he's what you would call a Sanitary Engineer...



Some of his stuff for sale...



and they were aware of wasting water back then in 1885...



I've just bought some books (16 in all!! but don't tell Mrs DJH!) and amongst them is a lovely little book caled 'The Village Carpenter' written by a carpenter in a family owned firm inherited later from his grandfather. It's acharming little book and narrates the type of work they undertook including timber, the carpenters shop, tools, farm, roof and also two chapters of his work on both watermills and windmil repairs. As you would expect there's also a chapter about undertaking. I can't really work out where he lived as it's not mentioned in the book, well, not that I can see, but the preface dated 1937 is from Haddenham Bucks..
Doug

 

[Penners]

the death of Prince Albert through some dodgy plumbing work.

I trust that was nothing to do with you, Doug?

Does anyone know what ‘brass me up’ means?

Never heard the expression. I know the meaning of "grass me up", which is what Freddy "Mad Dog" Walters did to me, after the Market Street bank blag.

 

[Svenedin]

Marvellous books and thank you for posting them.

 

[DJH]

Nothing to do with me Penners (have I ever said that before on here?) I'd retired before Albert bought it with the dodgy plumbing.

'Brass me up' was a term used by disgruntled employees who stormed out of their job before payday and wanted money straight away.

I've taken some photos of the Village Carpenter book (and my slippers! )...



and some of the pictures from the chapter about wind mill repairs that might interest Gareth and Vicky.





Doug

 

[DJH]

and a few photos of wooden well pumps which we talked about some time back, well (pun?) pumps...

I've had to make and service these valves in the past





Happy days...

Doug

 

[DJH]

I've had an opportunity to catch up with some reading ( has anyone read Ruskins 'The seven lamps of Architecture'??) and came across this nice little verse that sums up the pleasure of the carpenter's shop...

No gaslight ever lit his shop;
He had no wheels to start and stop;
No hot, metallic engines there
Disturbed the shaving-scented air;
His hands were engines, and his eye
His gauge to measure beauty by...
How gently time went by for him
Up in that workshop! which grew dim
At sunset time: and then he'd lay
His chisels down, and sweep away
The chips and shavings of the day;
But left upon the bench no less
Than that day's gain in comeliness;
Then shut the door, and slowly went
Under the rose to bed, content.

The author goes on to rather spoil this with a comment about plywood...

'Wood is alive and iron is dead; a carpenter who takes no notice of the grain or of the individual qualities of a piece of wood is only a botcher, and I suspect that something of the prejudice against plywood which many older carpenters express, is due to the way that plywood can be treated-wholesale, so much stuff to fill openings with. It baulks carpenters of half their accumulated experience, like a woman who behaves in an unexpectedly mannish manner'

He redeems himself a little with a description of sash windows...

'The old-time sliding sash window has....superceeded by the steel made window but much may still be claimed in its favour. In no other type of window is the ventilation so easlily regulated by the simple lowering of the top sash. The height of this order of window should exceed the width by at least one third otherwise the sashes are too wide to slide freely. For this reason they are frequently out of proportion to the design of a house'.

Doug

PS Got my new hip but they used cement.... :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[vicky whitworth]

Oh no, Doug. Not metal encrusted in cement. That's bad news, mate. You'll last about as long as Margate Pier - so plenty of time to go!
Hope you recover well.
Crutches? Let me know if you master them. I never did.
Vicky

 

[Penners]

Got my new hip

Hooray!

Geddit? Hip... hooray...?
Oh well....

 

[DJH]

Yea, geddit... Thanks Penners. I'm back in action with renewed enthusiasm but not crutchless ( :shock: ) yet.

I've just aquired two little volumes from the 1920's entitled 'Little Things that Matter' for those who build. They have different authors but are, in effect, tips to others who build to avoid things coming up on the 'snagging lists' that accompany supervised construction. Is that an oxymoron?

I'm trying to find the chapter about plastering that might raise a few eyebrows here...

Doug

 

[DJH]

Crutches? Let me know if you master them. I never did.

I haven't got on too badly with them Vicky but I have managed to push one crutch through the rubber foot destroying it beyond repair so I have a plastic chair leg protector on it now and the crutches don't match any more. I've had to stay in for fear of meeting a 'Penners' over here nad being mocked!

I've found what I was looking for in those books...



Contents page Vol I



Contents page Vol II

 

[DJH]

Here's the chapter from volume I including views on both plastering and condensation.





I can transcribe the whole page if anyone's interested.

Doug

 

[Lime]

Marvellous books and thank you for posting them.

Yeah. love the books. Quite envious.

 

[Penners]

for fear of meeting a 'Penners' over here nad being mocked!

Mocked?! I never mock.

I may grump a tiny bit, on very rare occasions (ahem...), but I never mock. Particularly not those who have had hip engineering. If I'd mocked Mrs P when her two were done, I would now be in the cold, cold ground.

 

[DJH]

Ok, but others might!

Here's the preface of volume I.



That's a loose bit of Latin I suspect but very apt...

Doug

 

[DJH]

I came across this pamphlet tucked inside another book which is from the series Bucknell's House broadcast on 25th July 1962 which is a very useful guide for anyone tackling sash window repairs...
There are two further pages of instructions after this front page.






Note the N.B. at the foot of the page... :shock:

Doug

 

[Penners]

Ah, Barry Bucknell - I remember him well. He always wore a tie when doing his DIY demonstrations (and of course I always wore a tie to watch him). Mind you, his advice wasn't always what we might approve of!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RVnzu0COFU

 

[jocelyn plummer]

That brought back some memories, I can remember watching with disbelief--even then, long before I had begun to really appreciate the finer points of 'doing up' the house. :!: What a laugh it seems now!

 

[DJH]

Hmm. What sort of man is it who does up his tie so that the 'thin' end is shorter than the 'thick' end so that it can't be tucked into the label on the back of the tie? Never not ever never in my opinion tucked into the waistband of trousers... :shock: Still, at least he has a tie clip so that the loose end can't get caught in a power tool but rolled up sleeves?

Doug :roll:

 

[Penners]

In those days, young man, a clip to restrain the wandering tie was considered to be the cutting edge (excuse the pun) of health and safety.