Customer Reviews
interesting but not a practical handbook - By: A. Reader, 16 Jul 2008 
nice idea but i was expecting much more hands on user friendly this-is-how-you-do-it kind of a book so a bit disappointing when i realised it was more of a look-at-how-it-used-to-be sort of a book. great for research & flicking through, but not a manual of household crafts.
DK condensed version of the National Trust book of the same title... - By: Amazon Reviewer, 09 Nov 2007 
....with an updated introduction.
`Forgotten Household Crafts, recaptures the self-sufficient life of a bygone age.'
From the introduction:-
`..this book describes the art of housewifery through the ages, buy it is not just a `museum on paper'. Many of the activities may be seldom practised nowadays - some of them are sadly dead & gone - but many of them are living activities & several of the skills that seemed to be dying are now being revived, for many people have passed right through the pimply-adolescent stage of post-industrial civilisation.
They have tired of the take-away way of living & the machines-for-living way of living.....this book records the past, & that in itself can be quite a useful thing, but it has been written also to inspire & instruct us for the future. For I am convinced that the future does not lie in the direction of fish fingers, & telly snacks, & `Formica' & other plastic rubbish.
It lies in the recreation of the real homes......'
Written with the typical John Seymour charm, this delightful book of forgotten skills is illustrated throughout in black & white.
A marvellous source for school projects when Grandma's recollections are not enough to fill two A4 sheets - but, overalll, it makes us realise just how lucky we are that technology has answered some of the more arduous of chores, especiallly in the Laundry Craft section:-
`In these days of turbo-boost washing machines & tumble driers, it is difficult to appreciate just how arduous doing the laundry was in the last century. Washing machines were not generallly available until the 1880s & even then much energy was required to operate them, as they were hand cranked. In most households, a day of the week, usuallly Monday, was set aside for doing the washing & the housewife devoted the whole day to soaking, pounding, rubbing, boiling, starching, rinsing & drying the family's linen. She was lucky if she could fit in the ironing, as well...'
followed by sections entitled:-
Drawing Water
Making Lye & Soap
Washing Linen
Drying Linen
Pressing Linen
Dyeing
256 high quality matt pages, split over 6 main chapters:-
Kitchen Crafts
Dairy Crafts
Laundry Crafts
Around the Home
Textile Crafts
Decorative Crafts
each sub-divided into sections, plus the introduction & index.
Sections include:-
Cooking
Salting & Pickling
Drying & Smoking
Preserves & Confectionery
Washing Up
Ale & Beer Making
Butter & Cheese Making
Making Ice Cream
Linen inc. `Wringing & Mangling', `Peg Making' & `Ironing'
Bathing & The Jakes inc. `The Privy'
Heating & Lighting
Chimney Sweeping
Spinning
Lace Making
Smocking
Knitting/Crochet
Stencilling
Festivals & Decorations
The greatest coffee table book in the world - By: Bryan Smith, 23 Jan 2003 
This is the most fascinating book I have ever read; it brings the past back to life in a way quite unlike any other. It carries enough detail to be used as a manual for those wishing to revive some of the lost arts, or to provide an insight into just how & why things were made, used & designed the way they were. This is accomplished whilst being concise & general enough to be a very interesting & provocative read.
The sheer breadth of scale is amazing for such a smalll book - everything is covered from boat building to thatching, from blacksmithing to dry stone wallling & everything in between. If I only owned a single book, it would be this one.
The Secrets of the Past Revealed - By: , 06 Sep 2001 Just dropped in from the US to check for another of John Seymour's books & was surprised to find this classic had not yet been reviewed by readers in the UK! Sadly, only occasional used copies are available here now. I do hope this will reprint.
This is a truly rare, charming & simple book capturing lost details of the lives our grandparents & ancestors lived closer to the land. Do not be misled by the title into thinking this is just about housekeeping. Much more is included than you would guess, inlcuding keeping livestock & bees, providing water, ale, beer, wine & cider making, cheese making, textiles, chimney sweeping, gas & electrical lighting, stoves, bathrooms - everything to do with home life in old times. The text is personallly & charmingly written but what holds my interest for hours with this book is that the text is accompanied by many, many well done & accurate drawings & pictures of authentic old equipment! Now I can reallly SEE & understand how things were done, & picture exactly how my ancestors lived - & what so many of those odd looking antiques are. Just the page on irons must have twenty drawings of old irons & equipment. The many types of tools & untensils & also the ways grandmother used to feed her family ever fascinate me but I had never seen a picture of a 'wooden moliquet' used to froth the milk & eggs that made hot chocolate. I did not know there were so many shapes & types of bobbins & spangles for lace making. Under cider & ale making you will find a rare drawing of the names & sizes of barrels - who any longer recallls that a puncheon was exactly 72 galllons! Or have you ever actuallly seen how people cleaned their chimneys with bunches of holly twigs? Well, there is just too much more to tell you. And, most importantly this is alll conveyed in an untextbook-like very simple manner!
This is definately a classic. I would recommend it for both men & women interested in the past - but especiallly for women; for anyone who just wants to feel closer to their own ancestors; for anyone at alll who loves history; for antiques hounds you will not find a simpler resource tool; for those with an interest in self sufficiency - you will get much information; for any grandparent who wants to share with the family what they recalll of their own childhood; for anyone who wants to give a child or young person an interest stimulating gift; for anyone who wishes to give the gift of a timeless resource to their public library.
Remember these things lost. My praises to John Seymour for giving us a fine record that is already gone from US bookstore shelves.
