The Practical Builder

This 1774 guidebook for English carpenters was one of the earliest "do-it-yourself" manuals ever published. Designed for those who could not afford an architect's services, the book functioned as a source of construction techniques and design details. Employing elementary arithmetic and geometry, the annotated and meticulously rendered engravings depict cross-sections of chimney-pieces, ceilings, cornices, and other architectural details.