A CRAFTSMAN’S HANDBOOK by Henry Lapp...

A CRAFTSMAN’S HANDBOOK by Henry Lapp (Good Books/Philadelphia Museum of Art: $15.95, illustrated). As he was born deaf and largely mute, the Old Order Amish craftsman and artisan Henry Lapp (1862-1904) used this book to show samples of his work to potential customers. The handsome, minimally ornamented tables, cabinets, beds and chests display a sturdy, unapologetic functionalism that provides a welcome contrast to the fussy impracticality of many contemporary designs. One surprising inclusion is a sliding number puzzle, the ancestor of the modern plastic games that require the player to get the letters of the alphabet or a series of numbers in the correct order. This modest book would make a pleasant gift for anyone interested in antiques.