Butchering a Tree

We just picked up a nice guide for timber merchants from 1823. It contains everything you need to know to go into the timber business--the qualities of different types of wood; how much lumber of different types you can expect to get out of a tree of a certain diameter; a history of the use of wood in building; and a section on the "principle pieces of timber used to build a seventy-four gun ship of the line."

But what struck us most about the book was the hand-colored lithographs illustrating the cuts you can get from a tree. They look like those butchering guides you see for hogs and cattle, but in this case the tenderloin is the "keel piece."

To see the Timber Merchant's Guide, ask for Rare SD557.G9 1823.