Books on Ornamental Turning

What other ornamental turning books do you recommend?

Some of these books listed here may be a bit difficult to locate but are worth the effort. They contain some of the best photographic examples of ornamental turnery and guilloché work ever published.

• Sovereigns as Turners, by Klaus Maurice, Verlag Ineichen, Zurich, 1985. 9' x 13", 158 pages. Parallel english/german text. Many illustrations of ivory objects. Details the history of court society's fascination with lathe turning in residences from Stockholm to Florence, Paris to Moscow, and the objects they made. Covers the history of the art of ornamental turning with numerous photos of turned ivories from the Pitti Palace. Includes photos of early rose lathes of Queen Sophie Magdalena of Denmark, King Louis XVI of France, Elector Max Emanuel of Bavaria, Nartov of Leningrad, Ernst Ludwig, Carl Gustav, Emperor Maximilian I, and more. Also details the early treatises on turning from Bergeron, Moxeon, Plumier, Teuber, Diderot, and Hulot. Educational and inspirational. Purchase
• Turned Treasuries, by Klaus Maurice, Georg Laue and Christiane Zeiller. 9' x 11", 92 pages, Text is in English & German, 2004. Catalogues various lathe turned ivory and wood objects, including rose lathe turned items from the 1500's by the Zick family and Egidius Lobenigk up through the 18th Century. A beautiful book with many photos of ivory treasuries. Inspirational for those interested in ornamental turning.
• Boîtes — The Art of Guilloché 1880-1930. 140 pages, mostly in color, size is 8 & 1/2" X 11". Details various silver & gold boxes that have been engine turned & enameled. Boxes with different styles from all over the world are illustrated. Countries represented: France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, England, USA. Language is French. Also a chapter on the Guilloché work of masters, supplies, turning machines to do this type of work. A nice coffee table book, inspirational for those interested in guilloché.
• The Fabergé Case: From the Private Collection of John Traina, Harry N. Abrams Inc., New York, NY, U.S.A., 1998. Hard Cover. 11 1/4" x 8 3/4". 192 pages, 136 full color photographs. The first book devoted to the splendor of the Fabergé cigarette case and related accessories, illustrated with photographs of examples in the world's largest collection of these items. Detailed list of Fabergé cigarette case workmasters. Bibliography. Presented here for the first time, the Fabergé cigarette cases and related accessories are from the collection of John Traina, the largest such collection in the world. The photographs are illuminated by expert commentaries, informative essays, and technical details on crests, hallmarks, insignia, and Fabergé workmasters. A nice coffee table book, inspirational for those interested in guilloché. Purchase on Amazon
• Turning and Mechanical Manipulation, vol. 4 – Hand Or Simple Turning: Principles and Practice, John Jacob Holtzapffel, 1881 (1990 paperback reprint currently available by Dover Press, 592 pages. 9' X 6" X 1". Illustrated with 771 figures and 22 plates. (ISBN: 0-486-26567-9 ISBN-13: 9780486264288) Of particular interest to those collecting, restoring or operating a Holtzapffel or similar OT lathe. View on Google Books or Purchase on Amazon
• Ovalturning, Johannes Volmer. English editor David Springett. 2nd ed. 2006. History of oval-turning, lathes and chucks. Covers ellipse geometry, work holding, various methods of ovalturning, ornamenting, and design. Includes photo gallery and bibliography. View on author's site
• John Evans & Sons Lathe Makers, by John Edwards, 2001. Published by the Society of Ornamental Turners. This book details the known history of the Evans family and describes the lathes and accessories that are known to survive. It includes a series of drawings and pictures of some of the special equipment made exclusively by Evans & Sons and in many cases invented by them. 85 pages with hundreds of illustrations. Supplement of information on the formation and liquidation of Evan's Limited Company also available. 28 pages. Contact the author through the Society of Ornamental Turners.