Amateur Craft: History and Theory

187 Pages·2015·71.78 MB·English

by  Stephen Knott

Amateur Craft
i
ii
Amateur Craft
History and Theory
Stephen Knott
Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
iii
Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square 1385 Broadway
London New York
WC1B 3DP NY 10018
UK USA
www.bloomsbury.com
BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published 2015
© Stephen Knott, 2015
Stephen Knott has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to
be identifi ed as Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission
in writing from the publishers.
No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on
or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be
accepted by Bloomsbury or the author.
British Library Cataloguing-i n-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: HB: 978-1-4725-7735-1
PB: 978-1-4725-7734-4
ePDF: 978-1-4725-7736-8
ePub: 978-1-4725-7737-5
Library of Congress Cataloging-i n-Publication Data
Knott, Stephen (Stephen D.)
Amateur craft: history and theory / by Stephen Knott.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4725-7735-1 (hardback)
1. Handicraft—Social aspects. 2. Hobbies—Social aspects. 3. Amateurism. I. Title.
TT149.K59 2015
745.5—dc23
2014045833
Typeset by Refi neCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk

iv
CONTENTS
List of illustrations vii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction xi
1 Surface 1
2 Space 45
3 Time 89
Notes 127
Index 155
v
vi
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
1.1 Pooter applying Pinkford’s enamel paint 2
1.2 Chez Lui enamel advert (1888) 4
1.3 Marcel Duchamp, A polinère Enameled (1916–17) 6
1.4 Sketch block 14
1.5 Reeves & Sons watercolour paintbox 15
1.6 Winsor & Newton brushes for oil painting 16
1.7 Winsor & Newton oil colours in patent collapsible tubes 17
1.8 Winsor & Newton’s ‘patent spring’ Japanned tin boxes 20
1.9 Winsor & Newton water bottle moist colour box 21
1.10 Winsor & Newton’s thumb-h ole boxes 22
1.11 Winsor & Newton’s patent-fl exible-division moist colour box 23
1.12 Winsor & Newton ‘Handsome’ boxes 24
1.13 Francis Delaram, title page from T he Compleat Gentleman by
Henry Peacham (1622) 26
1.14 Publicity material for French market (1950s) 35
1.15 Trey Speegle, C an You Imagine (2008) 38
2.1 Cover of Amateur Work (1881) 54
2.2 Carpenter’s bench from A mateur Work (1881) 55
2.3 Winsor & Newton’s sketching easel 59
2.4 Winsor & Newton seat easel 60
2.5 ‘Make a studio-c ouch “workshop” ’ (1949) 61
2.6 Tool rack (1875) 63
2.7 Handyman board and tool rack (1977) 64
2.8 Tool wall with tool outline at Lock 7 Cycle Cafe, Broadway Market,
London (2010) 64
2.9 Man placing hammer on pegboard workshop (1977) 65
2.10 Presto Peg-b oard advertisement (October 1962) 69
2.11 Francis Chilton-Young, Plan of Amateur’s Suburban Fowl-House (1880–1) 73
2.12 Boulton and Paul advertisement for readymade poultry units (1893) 74
2.13 Skeleton of chicken hutch in A mateur Work (1882) 75
2.14 Advertisement for Hearson’s ‘Champion Incubator’ (1893) 78
2.15 Image of a Black Minorca Bantam 82
2.16 The nogg 85
3.1 ‘S’ Gauge (1:64) scratch-b uilt model by the late Alan Cruickshank 101
3.2 ‘S’ Gauge (1:64) scratch-b uilt model by the late Alan Cruickshank 102
vii
viii ILLUSTRATIONS
3.3 A simple single cylinder oscillating model steam engine (1888) 103
3.4 Modellers (Tim Watson and Mike Randall) working on Copenhagen Fields 107
3.5 Le Corbusier, L a Ville Radieuse (1964) 108
3.6 Farkham, owned by Mickelover Model Railway Group (2011) 111
3.7 Replica of Stonegate station building in Whatlington railway layout, by
Peter Bossom (2011) 112
3.8 Bodging Milano group shot (2010) 119
3.9 Gareth Neal in open-a ir workshop, Bodging Milano (2010) 120
3.10 Rory Dodd on a pole lathe, B odging Milano (2010) 122
Plates
1 Ballet Dancers ‘1, 2, 3’. Oil painting set, Craft Master, Palmer Paint Inc. (1955)
2 Feline Fun. Preparation prints, samples and test runs. Palmer Pann Corp (1955)
3 Old Sadface Craft Master Kit (c.1969)
4 Andy Warhol, Do It Yourself (Landscape) (1962)
5 Jeff McMillan, The Possibility of an Island (2008)
6 James Rigler S hed at Turf Gallery, Westbourne Grove, London (2007)
7 Stanislaus S. Longley, G ardening by Underground (1933)
8 Harrison Weir, ‘Golden-Spangled Polish’ from T he Poultry Book
by William Bernhard Tegetmeier (1867)
9 Eglu Classic by Omlet
10 Simon Starling, B urn Time (2001)
11 Copenhagen Fields
12 T. WATSON Modern Dentistry, detail of block of shops in Copenhagen
Fields made by Matthew Wald (1985)
13 Grahame Hedges, Stoney Lane Depot (2011)
14 We Work In A Fragile Material, W e Built This City (2009)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book derives from PhD research undertaken at The Royal College of Art and the Victoria
and Albert Museum between 2008 and 2012 that was funded by the Arts and Humanities
Research Council through its Collaborative Doctoral Award scheme. The thesis allowed a
degree of freedom and experimentation that I did not think possible in doctoral level research,
and I would like to acknowledge the dynamism, enthusiasm and encouragement of my
supervisory team – Glenn Adamson, the then Head of Research at the Victoria and Albert
Museum (now director of the Museum of Art and Design, New York), and Hans Stofer, head of
the Jewellery and Metal department of the Royal College of Art. I would like to also thank the
staff and students at these two institutions.
I would like to thank the Trustees of the Crafts Study Centre, Farnham, Surrey, for their
generous support in providing funds for sourcing the images and copyright licences. In sourcing
the images I would like to thank Neil Parkinson and Cathy Johns of the Royal College of Art
Library, the Yale Centre of British Art, the Haas Family Art Library at Yale, the Bodleian Library,
the Hartley Library at the University of Southampton, and Kay Peterson and Wendy Shay at the
Archives Center of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Thanks to Winsor
& Newton for providing permission to reproduce nineteenth- century advertisements of their
products. The artists mentioned in the thesis have also been generous in their provision of
images: Jeff McMillan, James Rigler, Trey Speegle, Simon Starling, Chris Eckersley, Rory Dodd
and Linus Ersson. I would like to thank the railway modellers and model engineers Mike Chrisp,
David Crossley, Peter Bossom, Grahame Hedges, and particularly Leslie Bevis-Smith, Clive
White and Tim Watson of the Model Railway Club. Their openness and willingness to support
my research has been invaluable.
I want to acknowledge the kindness of my parents and family, in particular for their patience,
warmth and generosity throughout the research. Writing up the research within the environs of
my parents’ chicken farm and the frequent discussions helped me through tough moments.
Finally, I would like to thank my partner Kimberley, for the many conversations about the ideas
raised in the book, suggested avenues of research, copy-e diting, image editing and putting up
with my inability to unglue myself from the computer screen during the manuscript preparation.
Her enthusiasm and support have proved vital, as have our countless busman’s holidays.
ix