Rapid Carpentry de Gill, Joseph R

New York, 1888. Folio, 80 pp., with 17 plates printed on heavy cardboard. Gill is the author of Lightning Stair Builder and Mechanical Stair Builder, and was the superintendent of all main stairs in the Vanderbilt mansion. As a short autobiographical statement makes clear, he is a practicing carpenter first and a writer second; the book's subtitle is "Fifty Years Experience at the Bench." The 17 plates contain 136 problems "treating on carpenter and joiner work," problems doubtless met and solved by the author during his many years of experience. The page facing the title page bears a stamp with the author's name and address: "J.R. Gill, 416 W. 48th St., N.Y." Boards soiled; wear at corners and along spine with slight loss of cloth; a bit of soil on a few interior pages, but the interior is generally VG. Hinges tight, binding secure.