Hide Glue: Historical & Practical Applications. By Stephen A. Shepherd. Well, Chris Schwarz may have beat me to the review, but I'll take sloppy seconds any day on a book such as this one.
Stephen Shepherd is author of the Full Chisel Blog, a blog that should be a must-read on the list of any woodworker, fan of early trades, artist, historian, furniture restorer or conservator, humorist, &c, &c. Why? Because Stephen is all of these.
Hidden behind those antiquarian spectacles of his is a serious student of the history of tools, trades and all things historical. If you really want to embarrass Stephen, search out his CV under Bio at The Old Website.
Now that I have exposed his studious past, let's talk, albeit briefly, about his new book on Hide Glue. I won't go into the details that Chris covered as I know that by now, you have read his post. In fact, if you hadn't read his post when it first was posted, your post reading skills are woefully inadequate. What with RSS feeds, email updates, bookmarks, Twitter and all that stuff, you really have to get with it!
Hide Glue is, and I will say it, the one book you should buy this year. Wait, never mind that. Please by my books too. Let's try this again. Hide Glue, by Stephen Shepherd is THE book on Hide Glue. Part introduction, part user instructions, part history and part What Makes Hide Glue Tick, this is the most accessible and comprehensive book or article that I have read on the subject.
Add to these praises a set of illustrations that are not to be missed. Let me say that I am not a fan of Graham Blackburn. I am a fan of Eric Sloane. Why? Because Sloane's sketches are live and Blackburn's are inanimate. Stephen's sketches are in the first category. You feel as if you are there, looking at the scene or item. I am sure I have caused Stephen further embarrassment, but that is the hard life of the author.
You can, and should, buy your copy of Hide Glue: Historical & Practical Applications at Tools For Working Wood, Joel Moskowitz' hangout. In addition, you really should add hide glue to your arsenal of adhesives.
Till next, Gary
