Source Book for Rule Collectors

Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association, Inc., The, May/Jun 2004

EAIA SALE BOOKS Source Book for Rule Collectors By Philip E. Stanley.* 296 pp., illustrations, softcover, 2004. $45.00 nonEAIA members / $40.50 members.

If anyone interested in the history and technology of rules could have but one book, this would be it without question. A well-established authority on rules, Stanley has produced a comprehensive, guide to measuring devices, generously illustrated with modern photographs, contemporary cuts from catalogs and manuals, and patent illustrations. Beginning with an introduction to the subject by Ken Roberts, Stanley then provides a series of reproduced rule lists and flyers followed by an anthology of the most useful articles on rules, both recent and old, including the author's periodical Mensuration. Then follow chapters on materials, construction and the rulemaking process, graduations and markings, special rules, foreign units of measure, rule accessories, and a bibliography. A companion volume, A Rule Concordance and Value Guide, provides information on the factors used to evaluate rules of different types and by various makers and their current values. It is issued as a separate publication to allow frequent updating of the prices.