By Carolyn Murray-Wooley, 2008.
In the years before the Revolutionary War, intrepid frontiersmen with roots in northern Ireland claimed vast tracts of land in Kentucky on which they developed plantations. The book examines these early frontier homes as well as the people who built and lived in them.
An instructional handbook. Explains how to build rock fences, stone walls, and dry stone retaining walls from foundation to finish, using principles that apply to walls of any rock type.
Dry Stone Conservancy, 2001.
A master craftsman provides us with the timeless wisdom he has gained from heaving and hewing stone.
In his highly anticipated second book, Vermonter Dan Snow once again proves that he is not just one of America’s premier artisans, but also one of our most articulate voices on the natural world and our relationship to it. Snow’s medium is stone: He is the nation’s premier drystone wall builder. Schooled in this ancient craft, he painstakingly creates structures as breathtaking as sculpture with nothing but gravity as their glue. In Listening to Stone, Peter Mauss’s tactile photographs of Snow’s artistry are matched by the artisan’s quietly compelling prose.
In a voice as expressive as Annie Dillard’s and as informed as John McPhee’s, Snow demonstrates astonishing range as he touches on such subjects as geology, philosophy, and community. We learn that stone’s grace comes from its unique characteristics—its capacity to give, its surprising fluidity, its ability to demand respect, and its role as a steadying force in nature. In these fast-paced times, Snow’s life’s work offers an antidote: the luxury of patience, the bounty and quietude of nature, the satisfaction of sweat. “I work with stone,” he ultimately tells us, “because stone is so much work.”
ABOUT DAN SNOW Since 1976, Dan Snow has been hand-building unique drystone constructions for clients in New England and abroad. He is one of only a handful of Americans certified by Great Britain’s Dry Stone Walling Association. He lectures and leads workshops and is the subject of the documentary film Stone Rising. He lives in Dummerston, Vermont.
We have limited quantities, and all are signed by the author
A thorough study of the history, builders, and evolution of Kentucky (and Tennessee) rock fences, with many photographs and a section of color plates. 220-page hardback.
By Carolyn Murray-Wooley and Karl Raitz. University Press of Kentucky, 1992.
This spiral-bound guide is available through our online store at a lower price than most retailers. The book is 159 pages, and covers a broad range of styles and features of dry stone structures in Great Britain. It is a must for the advanced mason, aspiring beginner, or back yard enthusiast.
The handbook is produced by BCTV, an environmental conservation organization in the UK. The handbook contains information and descriptions of British styles of drystone fences.