Made in England (Nature Classics Library)

In the mid 1930s, Dorothy Hartley travelled England by car and bicycle gathering material for the book. Published as a companion volume to Food in England, the book is a portrait not only of the rural industries – whether wood-working or stonework, weaving or pottery, but also of the people engaged in these occupations. Written in direct prose belying her innate curiosity, each chapter covers a specific skill, and is illustrated with Hartley’s own photographs and charming, accurate pen-andink drawings. As these traditional skills become practised less widely, our connection to ancient knowledge, and the land, is threatened. The republication of this book, together with an introduction from the Turner Prize winning architect and artist, Fran Edgely (from Assemble), is aimed at restoring some of those lost links and reviving interest in craft and making by hand.

Dorothy hartley (1893-1985) was born in Skipton, Yorkshire. She studied and taught art throughout her long life, but made her name with a series of books, including the multi-volume The Life and Work of the People of England. An inveterate traveller, in the 1930s she journeyed by car from Egypt to the Congo, taking many photographs which were later exhibited at the Imperial Institute, and later travelled widely in the British Isles – these peregrinations formed the basis of many of her books. After a successful career writing and illustrating books she wrote journalism for the Guardian in later life.