By Hand & Eye by George R. Walker and Jim Tolpin is a 200-page, full-color hardcover from Lost Art Press on designing furniture the way pre-industrial craftsmen did: by proportion, with dividers and simple geometry instead of measurements.
Why do old buildings and furniture look right? Because they were laid out with simple ratios like 1:2, 3:5 and 4:5, worked out by hand and eye. The book teaches that design language in three parts, Making the Connections, The Language of the Artisans and Artisan Geometry, with exercises in every chapter, then puts it to work in nine small projects: a step stool, candy box, lap desk, tool tote, boot bench, coffee-for-two tray, cup cabinet, side table and vanity.
Woodworkers John Hoffman and Christopher Schwarz founded Lost Art Press in 2007. Its books ship from a warehouse in Covington, Kentucky, and are printed in the United States.