Hands Employed Aright: The Furniture Making of Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847) by Joshua A. Klein

Hands Employed Aright: The Furniture Making of Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847)  by Joshua A. Klein

288 pages, 3.35 lbs

Hardcover

Printed in the United States

Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847) was the first settled minister of the frontier town of Blue Hill, Maine. Harvard-educated and handy with an axe, Fisher spent his adult life building furniture for his community. Fortunately for us, Fisher recorded every aspect of his life as a woodworker and minister on the frontier.

In this book, author Joshua A. Klein, the founder of Mortise & Tenon Magazine, examines what might be the most complete record of the life of an early 19th-century American craftsman. Using Fisher’s papers, his tools and the surviving furniture, Klein paints a picture of a man of remarkable mechanical genius, seemingly boundless energy and the deepest devotion. It is a portrait that is at times both familiar and completely alien to a modern reader – and one that will likely change your view of furniture making in the early days of the United States.

is editor-in-chief of Mortise & Tenon Magazine. He has presented about historic craftsmanship at museums around the United States and has written articles for Fine Woodworking, Popular Woodworking, and American Period Furniture. Klein is author of four books, including "Joined: A Bench Guide to Furniture Joinery" (Mortise & Tenon, 2020) and "Worked: A Bench Guide to Hand-Tool Efficiency" (Mortise & Tenon, 2022). Joshua is also an Associate Fellow in Mechanical Arts at Greystone Theological Institute. He, his wife, and their three sons are restoring an 1821 cape on the coast of Maine.