Amassed over nearly forty years, the David Russell collection brings together a stunning array of edge and boring tools from Britain, continental Europe and North America, thus providing a broad survey of hand tool-making from prehistory to today. All the tools are illustrated with James Austin's photographs, with details and marks shown where appropriate. Special attention is given to planes, and the great British makers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are discussed in depth. Since prehistoric times there has been a never-ending quest for better ways to cut and bore wood. Along the way this has produced a wide variety of hand tools, and there are many where beauty and function meet. The book will appeal to a wide range of readers, including collectors, craftsmen, industrial archaeologists and social and economic historians, as well as historians of material culture.

Illustrated by: James Austin