Synopses & Reviews
FOREWORD - IN the bewildering cross currents that have engulfed modern life in rapid changes, it has become in creasingly evident to educators and others en gaged in character training that an inevitable effect has been a paternalistic tendency to regiment the habits and even the very thoughts of both children and adults. This has forced growing life into restrictive channels by prescribed patterns, so that the constructive efforts of education have been frustrated and qualities of individual initiative and self-reliance have been alarmingly sub merged. Boston University, together with other institutions of higher learning, has recognized the seriousness of the problem. It has given careful study to the means of meet ing the situation and, in 1930, decided that an opportunity should be offered to its students and to teachers and social workers of surrounding towns to learn a selected number of creative handicrafts so that they might have this means of stimulating self-expression in the daily lives of children and adults. The response was immediate and enthusiastic so that these courses have been regularly included in the educa tional and social science curriculum. Instruction in the different crafts is given by the teachers of the Fellow crafters Guild, an institution of acknowledged leadership in this field, which has now been affiliated with Boston University. iii Numerous rfc uests, however, have been received for craft instruction om persons in distant places and others unable to attend the classes. The Beacon Press has gen erously agreed to join in this social experiment by pub lishing a series of inexpensive, elementary books, which will give to people remote from Boston exactlythe same step-by-step instruction as is afforded to the class students. Boston University shares with the publishers the hope that The Beacon Handicraft Series will afford its readers a satisfying means of self-expression through creative work. HENRY H. MEYER, Ph. D., Th. D., Dean of Boston University School of Social Service. IV PREFACE THE revival of interest in handicrafts has been a natural reaction from the technically perfect but impersonal products of highly developed ma chinery and it will, it is believed, prove of real benefit in providing an enjoyable and constructive means for em ploying increased hours of leisure. Of the various handicrafts, leatherwork holds forth special claims upon the interest of an ambitious worker because of the simplicity of the processes, the inexpen siveness of the equipment, and the practically noiseless and therefore non-irritating nature of the work. Yet leathercraft affords, at the same time, an outlet for indi viduality and artistic expression in developing articles of beauty and of enduring value. This brief manual has been prepared with the object of serving especially those who have had no instruction or experience in leatherwork. An effort has been made, therefore, to present the directions very fully and clearly, even sometimes at the expense of repetition and seeming redundancy of expression. The author gratefully acknowledges her indebtedness to Constantino Belash, President of Fellowcrafters, Inc., for his interest and helpful suggestions, to Helener G. Robertson for revising and editing the manuscript, to Helen E...
Synopsis
This vintage instructional manual is perfect for the leatherwork novice and enthusiast alike. Originally written by Eleonore E. Bang as part of The Beacon Handicraft Series, it introduces tools, cutting patterns and preparatory techniques for creatively working with leather, in a simple and informative style. Contents include: Leathers for Leathercraft - tools and General Directions - Patterns for Cutting Leather and Tracing Designs - Leather tooling - Carved Leather - tooling With Stamps - Undecorated Leather - Stencilling and Cut-Out Decoration - Polishing and Colouring - Stitching and Lacing - Making up Articles - Some Things to Make with Directions for Decorating. We are republishing this rare work in a modern and affordable edition, complete with a newly written introduction and reproductions of the illustrations found in the original.