I’m now offering a line of classic woodcraft books for your maximum outdoor lore enjoyment. (However, as of Oct. 2014 most are sold out. Please let me know if you see a title that you like. I can try to get more copies of any of these. Most cost $10-20. I do usually have several of these titles for sale at my eBay Store, however. It’s just too hard to keep the listings in this article current with my inventory.)
I’ve had these books (and swooned over them) for years. I’d be remiss if I didn’t give you an easy chance to have them, too! These will mostly be vintage goodies instead of new stock. I’ll find nice copies and pass em along to you.
These are the classics from several periods. They cover the range from the very first outdoor skills books ever published in the 1800’s to retro items from the 50’s to classics from the fad-1970’s to today’s cutting edge modes in teaching primitive skills.
*”Woodcraft & Camping” by “Nessmuk”, $15. This is the first book written to show regular people how to take to the woods. George Washington Sears wrote it in 1880 under his penname “Nessmuk.” Before this outdoor recreation was done by the rich with the help of guides. Buffs still swear by Nessmuk and many love recreating his famous “trinity” of camp tools (pic below). The Nessmuk camp knife is legendary. This is a 105-page Dover reprint, new.
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*”Canoeing the Adirondacks” by “Nessmuk”, $25. In this 177-pg tale, Nessmuk is the first to tell the world about ultralight camping, thus he’s the godfather of this recent trend. He worked with Rushton to create a 10-lb canoe and carried approx the same weight in his pack then went on month-long outings. Nessmuk was tiny and a bit sickly and weak yet he loved living in the outdoors. How did he manage it? By not taxing himself with extra stuff. He shows in this book how to do it via stories of several trips into outback waterways. A much rarer volume.
*”Camping & Woodcraft” by Horace Kephart, $25. These are a variety of editions, usually paperback and pretty new. He’s another classic early outdoor educator who people still swear by. Much more detailed info than Nessmuk. Scholars and buffs alike both try to replicate his gear. Popularized the sleeping bag. He had style.
*”Woodcraft” by Ellsworth Jaeger, $20.Wonderful lore, wonderful author-illustrations in a 40’s style similar to cartoon panels but full of just the right detail. Another still-used classic. 500 pages, 1945 (plus later reprints), 5.5″ x 8.5″.
*”Camp Lore & Woodcraft” by Daniel C. Beard, $15. Dan Beard was the co-founder of US Scouting. Here’s his woodcraft bible. What a wonderful artist he was, too. Several of his books are must-haves, including “Field & Forest Handy Book,” “Shacks, Shelters and Shanties,” and “The Boy’s Handy Book.” You can add a special note to request any of those other titles instead of “Camp Lore,” as I do have some inventory.
*”Woodcraft and Indian Lore” by Ernest Thompson Seton, $20. No, ETS was the father of US Scouting! Actually, ETS had his own thing going with his Indian Woodcrafters boys groups then teamed up with Lord Baden-Powell for a few years, but he finally bailed due to conflicts with BP’s heavy-handed, imperialist UK-style. DC Beard stuck it out. ETS brought Native American lore to Scouting and also did his own sketching. (I almost included Lord BP’s original Scouting book but it’s a hodge-podge of Empire that’s short on lore. The story behind it is fascinating, though, and worth googling.)
*”Your Own Book of Campcraft” by Catherine Hammett, $12. A 50’s paperback of lore with period illustrations presented in retro glory.
*”Bushcraft” by Mors Kochanski, $30. Ah, the current master. Recently published. The cutting edge of survival skills as presented by a top Canadian teacher today. Color photo plants section. 300 pp, paper.
*”Bushcraft” by Richard Graves, $20. Non-US countries call woodcraft and survival skills “bushcraft,” especially Oz and the UK. This is a 1970’s classic. My first serious survival skills book.
*”Primitive Wilderness Living” by John and Jeri McPherson, $30. Top American teachers working today. Strictly primitive, with brain tanning, jiffy survival bow making, and such. It’s candid and very well presented. Authentic hardcore how-to.
*”Outdoor Survival Skills” by Larry Dean Olsen, $10. The 70’s survival bible and still a high-end how-to guide.
*”Field Guide to Wilderness Survival” by Tom Brown, $15. Gives thorough how-to but also includes much more of the Spirit side behind the roots of Native American survival skills. A fresh contrast to the technique/technology/intellectual orientation of other westernized guides.
*”Crafts and Hobbies” by Ben Hunt, $12. My first outdoor craft book! It was very inspiring. Wonderful 60’s era illustrations. Very colorful, large format hardcover (however, the cover of the copy I have in stock is faded and has a taped binding).
*”Indian Handicrafts” by Kenneth Wilbur, $20. Lovely author sketchwork in this large format paperback. Wilbur produces a wide-ranging series on pre-modern North American cultures. This is his detailed overview and how-to of hundreds of Indian skills. Hand-lettered text. All his books are great but this is his How-to Lore title.
