Have you ever wondered, how all the wonderful objects in our museums were made? The masterly use of hand tools by our ancestors would probably be at the core of the answer. Often those skills and particularly the tools that were used have been left out of the limelight though.

Are you interested in; hand tools and making objects, collecting, crafts and trades, material culture, museum studies, social history, folk art? If the answer is ‘yes’ to any one of these topics, this publication may pique your curiosity!

In this publication, various antique tools are illustrated and analysed, in relation to their previous functions, their cultural value as objects, and why they are studied and collected.

Our current times are dominated by mass-produced objects, many being the results of computer software design and automated production lines. The tools illustrated within this book may provide refreshing alternatives to this. Take a closer look at these examples of craftsmanship from our collective past.