David R. Russell (23 September 1935 – 21 March 2018) was a builder who for many years collected

antique woodworking tools ''Antique Woodworking Tools: Their Craftsmanship from Earliest Times to the Twentieth Century'' is David Russell's account of the history of woodworking tools illustrated profusely with items from his extensive collection of British, continental ...

Career and collecting

David Richard Russell was born at

Burneside Burneside () is a small village in South Lakeland in Cumbria, England. It is located to the north of Kendal and to the south east of Staveley, Cumbria, Staveley, on the River Kent, just upstream from the confluence of the River Sprint. It has a ...

near

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

(now part of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

), England, the younger son of Albert, a worker in a Cumbrian gunpowder-keg factory, and Alice Russell (''née'' Mason). He left school early to work alongside his brother as an apprentice to a cabinet-maker and joiner in Kendal. One of his first jobs as a young apprentice was working on site with his brother at

Sizergh Castle Sizergh Castle and Garden is a stately home and garden at Helsington in the England, English county of Cumbria, about south of Kendal. Located in Historic counties of England, historic Westmorland, the castle is a grade I listed building. While ...

, near Kendal. "His first love was the foreman's Norris jointing-plane, which he was not allowed to touch however much his fingers tingled," wrote Huon Mallalieu in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''. "Seven years later his passion was assuaged, but not extinguished, when he bought his first Norris for £5 in a Sunday antiques market."Huon Mallalieu, ''

'', 27 November 2010. This was the beginning of what was to become one of the foremost collections of woodworking tools in the Western world. Although David Russell's career was to follow a different path, one of his lifelong passions was

wood-carving Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...

. After completing his National Service in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

he went into the building trade, working first of all in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

and then for

Wimpey George Wimpey was a British construction firm. Formed in 1880 and based in Hammersmith, it initially operated largely as a road surfacing contractor. The business was acquired by Godfrey Mitchell in 1919, and he developed it into a constructio ...

in London. Back in Cumbria he formed a partnership with his brother and by the end of his career their building firm, by then known as Russell Armer Ltd, employed some 250 men. His firm's building project in collaboration with the local architect Mike Walford at Webster's Yard, Kendal, was reviewed in depth in the ''

Architects' Journal ''Architects' Journal'' is an architectural magazine published in London by Metropolis International. History The first edition was produced in 1895. Originally named ''The Builder's Journal and Architectural Record'', from 1906 to 1910 it was kn ...

''. Throughout his working life and well into his retirement Russell could be seen raising his paddle at tool auctions on both sides of the Atlantic as he bid for some of the finest tools on offer. When tool historians and tool book writers began to pay him visits to see his collection and publish items from it, he came to realise that what he had amassed was worthy of a book in its own right. He struggled to pull together a team to bring the book to fruition, but after much toil spanning several years the book was published to critical acclaim in October 2010. The dust-jacket text summarises the book's aim as one of "providing a broad survey of hand tool-making from prehistory to today." As

David Linley David Albert Charles Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon (born 3 November 1961), styled as Viscount Linley until 2017 and known professionally as David Linley, is an English furniture maker, a former chairman of the auction house Christie's UK, ...

wrote in the foreword: " avid Russellis to be congratulated on amassing with unerring eye such a fascinating array of tools." Eve M. Kahn, writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' averred that "The Russell collection volume . .was intended to glamorize unsung innovations". Mark Bridge in his review in ''Antiques Trade Gazette'' was more specific about the numerous photographs by the

Courtauld Institute The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

-trained photographer

James Austin James Austin may refer to: Sports * Jim Austin (baseball) (born 1963), former baseball pitcher * Jim Austin (rugby league), New Zealand rugby league player * James Austin (judoka) (born 1983), English judoka * James Austin (American football) (19 ...

: "This is a truly huge work . . . and is quite unrivalled in the size and quality of its illustrations. ames Austinhas managed to capture the elusive qualities of balance, texture and patina which make the finest tools a pleasure to handle, frequently lifting them into the realm of folk art".Mark Bridge, "The young apprentice cabinetmaker who became a connoisseur", ''

Antiques Trade Gazette Auction Technology Group is a publishing business based in London. It publishes ''Antiques Trade Gazette'' which is a London-based weekly publication and website serving the art and antiques community. The print publication has around 16,000 sub ...

'', 22 October 2011, p. 19.

Bibliography

* Russell, David R. with Robert Lesage and photographs by James Austin, cataloguing assisted by Peter Hackett, foreword by

. ''

Antique Woodworking Tools ''Antique Woodworking Tools: Their Craftsmanship from Earliest Times to the Twentieth Century'' is David Russell's account of the history of woodworking tools illustrated profusely with items from his extensive collection of British, continental ...

: Their Craftsmanship from the Earliest Times to the Twentieth Century''. Cambridge: John Adamson (2010)

Other books featuring tools from the David Russell collection

* Eaton, Reg. ''The Ultimate Brace: A Unique Product of Victorian Sheffield''. King's Lynn: Erica Jane Publishing (1989) * Hambly, Maya. ''Drawing Instruments: 1580–1980''. London: Sotheby's Publications (1988) * Lampert, Nigel. ''Through Much Tribulation:

Stewart Spiers Stewart Spiers was a small but innovative firm of plane-makers in Scotland, founded first of all in Ayr in Ayrshire and continuing under the registered name of Stewart Speirs Ltd 'sic''in Paisley, Renfrewshire, from c. 1933 until its demise in ...

and the Planemakers of Ayr''. Pascoe Vale, Victoria, Australia: Oliver Publications (1999) * Nagyszalanczy, Sandor. ''The Art of Fine Tools''. Newtown, CT:

Taunton Press Taunton Press is a publisher of periodicals, books, and websites for the hobbyist and building trades based in Newtown, Connecticut. It was established in 1975 by Paul Roman and his wife Jan. Publications and Products Periodicals published by T ...

Inc.: Paperback (2000) * Proudfoot, Christopher, and Philip Walker. ''Woodworking Tools''. Oxford: Phaidon, Christie's Collectors Guides (1984) * Rees, Jane and Mark. ''The Rule Book: Measuring for the Trades''. Lakeville, MN: Astragal Press (2010)

Notes

External links

Obituaries and tributes
"David Russell: Collector and authority on traditional woodworking tools"
''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'', 1 May 2018, p. 29
"David Russell obituary"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 11 June 2018, "Journal", p. 11
"Obituary: David R Russell, expert on vintage woodworking tools and builder"
''

Scotsman The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...

'', 1 May 2018, p. 43 * "David Russell: Builder and collector", ''

Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds in Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'', 21 April 2018
"David R Russell, the tool collector extraordinaire"
''

'', issue 2339, 28 April 2018, p. 62
"David Russell, businessman and expert on Britain's industrial past"
'' Herald'', 14 April 2018 * "Woodworking tools collector dies aged 82", '' Sheffield Telegraph'', 26 April 2018, p. 28
"David R. Russell - Some Thoughts on His Legacy"
Tools for Working Wood, 18 April 2018
"Obituary: David R. Russell"
Norris Planes, n.d.
"In Memoriam—David R. Russell"
''Shavings'', Newsletter of the

Early American Industries Association The Early American Industries Association (EAIA) was founded in 1933 by a group of people interested in the traditional trades and crafts of early America. They met to discuss the rapidly disappearing practitioners of these trades, including th ...

, Inc., Issue 248, Spring 2018, p. 5 * "Obituary", ''Tool Chest'', Hand Tool Preservation Association of Australia Inc, no. 128, May 2018, p. 11 Other
''Antique Woodworking Tools'' (book)

Helen Perkins: "Antique Tools under the Hammer"
''

Westmorland Gazette ''The Westmorland Gazette'' is a weekly newspaper published in Kendal, England, covering "South Lakeland and surrounding areas", including Barrow and North Lancashire. Its name refers to the historic county of Westmorland. The paper is now owned by ...

'', 28 September 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, David R. 1935 births 2018 deaths British collectors British art collectors People from Cumbria People from Kendal People from Westmorland