The Mechanical Wood Crafts in the 18th and 19th Centuries in the Luso-Brazilian Context: Based on the Study of Artisans, Workshops, and Raw Materials

Abstract

This article examines the wood crafts in Portugal and Brazil between the 18th and 19th centuries through four particular bibliographic references, presenting what it meant to be an artisan, what workshops were, and which raw materials were selected for the production of wooden artifacts. The four primary written sources used were: Volume 7 of the Encyclopédie by Jean le Rond d’Alembert and Denis Diderot (1751–1772); the Portuguese and Latin Dictionary by Rafael Bluteau (1712–1728); the Carpenter’s and Joiner’s Guide by Pioche (1846); and O Vignola Brazileiro by César de Rainville (1880). The article aims to contribute to the understanding of certain factors surrounding the production of wooden artifacts during the golden age of craftsmanship and its decline amid the transformations leading to the Industrial Revolution.