The
Cooper and his Trade
by Kenneth
Kilby
Softcover
150 x 230mm
192pp
Published by Linden Publishing, CA USA
R.R.P.$39.90
ISBN 0-941936-16-3
Extract from back cover of book:
This is the first book on coopering by a cooper - a name perpetuated in the surnames of many people throughout the world. With its beginnings in prehistory the making of barrels, except for spirits, is virtually at an end in Britain, and wood has been replaced by glass and metal.
Mr. Kilby comes from a family of coopers in Hedfordshire. He was apprenticed to the trade, served in it for many years, and finally abandoned it for teaching. His book is divided into two parts. The Life of a Craftsman, partly autobiographical, deals with materials, tools and techniques and discusses the roles of the white cooper, the dry cooper and the various kinds of wet cooper. The second part of the book deals with organization and conditions of work and the social history of coopering from early times to the twentieth century. The present state of this proud and honoured trade can be judged from the words of the Secretary of the South Wales Coopers' Union: 'We are now down to seven members knocking down casks.'
This is a fine story, vividly told. It is fully illustrated with 56 pages of plates and 87 drawings, and there is a bibliography for each chapter.
Photos: Black & White
Units of Measurement: Imperial
Contents
Illustrations
Introduction
PART
ONE - The Life of a Craftsman
The Making of a Cooper
The Branches of Coopering
Machine Coopering
Timber used in the Coopering Trade
Tools
PART
TWO - The History of Coopering
The Beginnings
The Roman Period
The
Anglo-Saxon Period
The Early Medieval Period
The Late Medieval Period
The Tudor Period
The Stuart Period
The Eighteenth Century
The
Nineteenth Century
And the Ending
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Index