17th-Century Essex County Cupboard
Peter Follansbee’s “17th-Century Essex County Cupboard" is about as close a description as we’ll ever get to how complex pieces of 17th-century furniture began in the forest and progressed through the workshop. This particular cupboard contains a multitude of operations: riving stock, insane amounts of tricky (and simple) joinery, drawboring, nailing, faceplate and spindle turning (some of it on a massive scale), plus sometimes-wild mitering jobs to add all the decoration to this enormous and beautiful piece. Plus, it includes measured drawings by Jeff Lefkowitz, with details of the turnings and mouldings.
Building a cupboard like this isn’t just figuring out the joinery. It’s also figuring out how the original makers may have held some of the odd-shaped bits to work on them. It’s puzzling over the order of operations to assemble the components. It’s figuring out when to carve and paint, when to rive and when to cut joints to keep the whole operation moving forward.
It isn’t often that Lost Art Press gets to publish a book like this. Written by a joiner at the top of his game after a lifetime of research, training and daily work. Plus a project that is worthy of all the long years of toil it took Follansbee to be able to build it.
Follansbee has spent his adult life researching and building 17th-century furniture to understand the tools and processes used to build the cupboard featured in this book. “17th-Century Essex County Cupboard” represents the culmination of decades of serious research and shop experimentation. But it’s no dry treatise. Follansbee’s wit – honed by 20 years of demonstrating at Plimoth Plantation – is reflected on every page.
Even if you never plan to build this cupboard, you’ll find Follansbee’s book a gripping account of what has been for him (so far) a twice-in-a-lifetime project.
And, the first 100 books ordered include a special treat: a signed bookplate from the author!
About the Physical Book
“17th-century Essex County Cupboard” is 6” x 9” and is printed in Tennessee on #80 matte-coated paper on a Japanese-built sheet-fed printing press. (This is an offset printing press that’s the size of a house – not a digital copier.) The pages are folded into signatures, sewn, glued and reinforced with fiber-based tape to create a permanent binding. Our books regularly survive floods and attacks by dogs and toddlers.
The 232-page interior is then attached to heavy cotton-covered boards using a thick paper hinge. The end sheets are printed with the measured drawings of the cupboard. The cover and spine are adorned with a foil die stamp. The image is physically stamped into the cloth and the board, giving the cover a texture you won’t get from modern digital books.
The book is designed to be used – hard – and survive more than a century of use. It might not outlast an Essex County cupboard…but it just might.
And if you want even more Essex County Cupboard, and video instruction on some of the techniques used in this and similar 17th-century-style furniture pieces, check out Follansbee’s video series on his Vimeo page.
About the Author
The bulk of Peter Follansbee’s work is reproductions of 17th-century joined furniture; boxes, chests, chairs, tables and more. His work follows techniques and methods from the period. He works exclusively with hand tools. Oak is the primary timber used; pine, maple and ash are also used to a lesser degree. Peter teaches here & there, and take custom orders regularly. His substack, Follansbee’s Substack, is technical and historical, with some personal stories woven in. He writes about a book he’s working on, on the history of the craft, and about his daily work: 17th century hand-tool woodworking and chairs.
You can read Peter’s full profile here.