[England] 1957. Calligraphic manuscript, oblong folio, 355x255mm, [6], 93 (but omitting f.71, apparently a mispagination), [15] leaves, written in black ink a very fine italic hand, illustrated with pen-and-ink drawings in the text and 35 tipped-in photographs, the last 15 leaves are “A Thatching Scrapbook” containing newspaper cuttings and photographs, peg-bound album in grey cloth., sound.
The author was a student at St Paul’s College of Education, Cheltenham; now part of the University of Gloucestershire. After giving a brief history of thatching, he embarks on a detailed analysis of the various styles, materials and techniques of the craft, together with illustrations of all the various tools involved. In this he was greatly helped by Mr. E. Bevan, Master Thatcher, of Tirley, Glos. There are several illustrations of Mr. Bevan at work, and he often quoted in the text. In addition to being a comprehensive study of thatching in 1950’s Britain, it is something much rarer, documentation of the skills of a man at the top of his craft, Mr. Bevan, Master Thatcher of Gloucester.