Wood You Like to See Some Samples?

Hough, Romeyn Beck. The American Woods: Exhibited by Actual Specimens and with Copious Explanatory Text. Lowville, NY: Romeyn B. Hough Co., 1894–1928.

«Wood has been a creative medium since ancient times and continues to inspire contemporary artists and craftspeople. Different types of trees produce different grains, densities, flexibilities, and colors, and choosing which type of wood to use is a form of artistic expression unto itself. For artists and craftsmen looking to research wood varietals, Watson Library's complete set of The American Woods: Exhibited by Actual Specimens and with Copious Explanatory Text is a good place to start. Assembled by the American physician and botanist Romeyn Beck Hough, The American Woods is a 14-volume collection of real wood samples from North America. Each species is represented with three sections—tranverse, radial, and tangential—and accompanying texts include the Latin, English, German, French, and Spanish names as well as descriptive information, habitat, and use.»

Hough, Romeyn Beck. The American Woods: Exhibited by Actual Specimens and with Copious Explanatory Text. Lowville, NY: Romeyn B. Hough Co., 1894–1928.

When the book was published in 1894, it proved enormously popular both for its tremendous informational value as well as for its aesthetic design, and is still sought after by bibliophiles, libraries, and museums. This demand led Taschen to publish a new edition in 2007, The Woodbook: The Complete Plates.

Hough, Romeyn Beck. The Woodbook: The Complete Plates. Köln: Taschen, 2007.

The introductory essay by Klaus Ulrich Leistikow notes that "by virtue of its publication history, its unique design with plates using genuine wood samples, and its extreme rarity, the original of Romeyn Beck Hugh's The American Woods (1888–1913, 1928) provides historical, artistic, and aesthetic reason enough to document it once more in contemporary guise."

Hough, Romeyn Beck. The Woodbook: The Complete Plates. Köln: Taschen, 2007.

This isn't the only example of one wood sample book inspiring another. In 1773, Johann Michael Seligmann published, in Germany, his Icones Lignorum—a survey of woods from around the world that featured vibrant hand-painted engraved plates, most of which were modeled after the collection of Friedrich Augustus, the king of Poland. Information on the species' characteristics were printed on the opposite page.

Seligmann, Johann Michael. Icones Lignorvm, Exoticorvm et Nostrativm Germanicorvm ex Arboribvs. Nürnberg: In Commission der Seeligmännischen Kunsthandlung, 1773–1777.

Shortly thereafter, starting in 1773, Jan Christiaan Sepp began publishing Houtkunde, Behelzende de Afbeeldingen van Meest alle Bekende in Amsterdam. Initially Sepp followed Seligmann's publication, and the first 48 plates of Houtkunde mirror those of Icones Lignorum. Then the publication more than doubled as Sepp discovered new varieties of exotic woods, most significant of which were West Indian wood samples from the collection of a minister of the Church of Rotterdam. The complete work was then issued in 1791.

Houttuyn, M. (Martinus). Houtkunde, Behelzende de Afbeeldingen van Meest Alle Bekende . . . Te Amsterdam: Jan Christiaan Sepp, boekverkooper, 1791.

These books would have been essential guides for 18th-century furniture and cabinet makers, especially those who worked with marquetry. Today, they are valuable resources for art historians and conservators, and can still be used as inspiration for artisans. Visit Watson Library to view these books, as well as the additional wood-related resources listed below.

Additional Resources
Bullock, William. Timbers for Woodwork. London: Evans Brothers, Limited, 1921.

Constantine, Albert. Fine Cabinet Woods and Their Uses. New York: A. Constantine and Son, ca. 1937.

Constantine, Albert. Know Your Woods; Their Identification, Properties, and Uses from the Standpoint of Craftsmen, Cabinetmakers, Carpenters, Dealers and Students; Lumber and Veneers; Unusual, Curious and Fabulous Woods, and Detailed Descriptions of 423 Individual Woods. New York: Home Craftsman Pub. Corp., ca. 1959.

Foxworthy, Frederick W. Indo-Malayan Woods. Manila: Bureau of Printing, 1909.

Green, Harvey. Wood: Craft, Culture, History. New York: Viking, ca. 2006.

Schniewind. Arno P. Concise Encyclopedia of Wood & Wood-Based Materials. Oxford, England: Pergamon Press; Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, ca. 1989.

Stone, Herbert, F.L.S. The Timbers of Commerce and Their Identification. London: W. Rider, 1924.