This book was a recent find in a second hand bookshop for a very reasonable £2 although perhaps not surprising given the subject matter which clearly has a limited readership. Anyway, the book was written in 1961 and was based on a national survey, by the author, of some 600 different farm wagons just then going out of general use. He decided to complete this survey before these vehicles completely disappeared in order to provide an historical reference. The book gives a very useful overview of the origins and development of wagons, the methods of construction and the substantial regional design variations. I would have preferred some information on factory built wagons but this book concentrates exclusively on local craftsman made vehicles. Nevertheless a useful reference on the general principles of wagon construction. Of especial interest to me was the fact that most of these wagons were expected to last at least a hundred years, indeed one of the oldest surveyed was built in 1780 and yet still in use in 1961, a strong contrast to military wagons that were expected to have a very short lifespan of only a few years at best.
No comments:
Post a Comment