"By arguing that what matters culturally, finally, is the representation of craft, the idea of craft, rather than the objects, Betjemann takes the whole subject of craft and stands it on its head. In doing so, he makes a substantial contribution to the cultural history of the United States, changing our way of thinking about craft by broadening its meaning considerably."?Miles Orvell, Temple University, author of The Real Thing: Imitation and Authenticity in American Culture, 1880?1940
Talking Shop is a brilliant exploration of craft and language, and of how they interlaced in the era of 1840-1920, as industrial production elevated the status of handmade objects. Peter Betjemann recasts the common view that craft is mute or unspoken; instead he reveals a complex discourse among writers, designers, and joiners that gave craft a startling new voice and syntax. I shall never again admire a Stickley table with the same senses.
William Howarth, Princeton University