The American Peasant

Years ago, a reader with an embroidery machine sent me this. By “this” I mean the thing in the photo. I don’t know exactly what to call it, but it is awesome. During one of John Brown’s many phases, he wrote a column for Good Woodworking magazine called “The Anarchist Woodworker,” and it featured this little guy holding a bomb. I’ll be honest: I have no idea if JB was an anarchist, or if he just liked being a contrarian. I would never use violent imagery. But I get it.

Band members: “And how was it (the music)?” Micah: “It was amazing.” Band members: “You think we’re amazing?” Micah: “Oh, no, I hated the music.” Friend of the band members: “She’s trashing your music!” Micah: “I’m not trashing their music. I said that I hated it. … I didn’t say it wasn’t good. I said that I hated it. And people hate every band.” — from the movie “That Alien, Sound” Even Albrecht Dürer had trouble drawing a rhinoceros without having seen one in person.

Almost two years ago (yes, I checked), I wrote about the line of workwear we’ve been developing called “Joiner.” After much tribulation, I’m happy to say that we are launching Joiner’s first product – a nice overshirt – to our paid subscribers today. You can jump to our store to take a look with this link, but it would be great if you could let me say a few things first.

There are more words written by André J. Roubo than there are words written about him. We don’t know much about the joiner Roubo, who (almost single-handedly) produced a four-volume set on the craft of woodworking that has yet to be eclipsed. “l’Art du menuisier” wasn’t the West’s first woodworking book. But it was the first woodworking book written (and illustrated) by a practitioner of the craft.

Publisher’s note: Happy summer and happy Earlywood, an excerpt from the thousands of pieces I’ve worked on since 1996. Sometimes, it’s from a magazine article. Or a book. Or (in this case) a blog post from 2023. Many of these entries have been updated with modern context or a new perspective. Enjoy! Between 1995 and 2001, chairmaker John Brown and Drew Langsner carried on extensive correspondence about JB’s classes at Country Workshops.

When my sister Ashley died, I was asked to perform a song at her funeral. I picked “I’ll Fly Away,” a gospel tune written in 1929 by an Oklahoma sharecropper who walked to school in Arkansas to study music. I’ve heard the song a hundred-thousand times, easy.

Publisher’s note: Good morning! Welcome to Earlywood, an excerpt from the thousands of pieces I’ve worked on since 1996. Sometimes, it’s from a magazine article. Or a book. Or (in this case) a blog post from 2015. Many of these entries have been updated with modern context or a new perspective. Enjoy! Your innate intelligence, your achievements in the corporate world and the number of degrees you have earned at university won’t help you much at the bench when you start woodworking.

The New York Times Magazine published a list of the 10 Most Important Chairs, and of course it’s idiotic. I love the Times. But they literally have no sense of history when it comes to their coverage of the furniture world or “style.” It’s all about what’s being shown in Milan. I vomited the following drivel after I read the article. I hate lists. 1. The No. 14 Thonet. I literally hate these chairs.

One of my favorite stick chairs is the Irish Gibson. It’s remarkably comfortable, even though the seat isn’t saddled. Its radical geometry and clever construction do all the work to make it the “favorite chair” at a party. And making one is easy. Well, it should be. I haven’t built a Gibson since 2023 after I hit a rough patch while teaching a class on building it. During the middle of the class, I realized my jigs to drill the mortises between the arms and seat were too tricky for the classroom.

An editor’s note: We are back on track with Saturday Earlywoods … you have me to blame/thank for a click of the wrong button and that early Earlywood last week. If you’re new here, Earlywood is an excerpt from the thousands of pieces Chris has written since 1996. Sometimes, it’s from a magazine article. Or a book. Or (in this case) a blog post from 2012. Many of these entries have been updated with modern context or a new perspective.