'Makers of Distinction' book by Thomas Girtin

[Russell]

A recent review on the ‘Gentleman’s Gazette’ website reminded me to buy a little book which has been mentioned on the LL in the past – titled “Makers of Distinction: Suppliers to the Town & Country Gentleman” by Thomas Girtin. It was written in 1959 & contains 256 pages.

The aim of Girtin was to record & highlight the state of the British ‘bespoke’ trade in the late 50’s & compare it to whatever earlier era may have been considered the ‘golden one’. He dedicated each of the 15 chapters to a particular trade & the book covers not only the expected tailoring & shirt-making but also umbrellas/sticks, gun-making, carriages/cars, footwear, saddles, fishing rods, hats, wine, gloves & a couple of others.

Typically each chapter uses a particular maker as a focus point for the trade in question but the discussion opens out to cover that trade in general. The book wasn’t intended to a give a blow by blow account of how any one product is made but there’s enough information to provide a good insight into what was involved & the problems encountered by the craftsmen. In addition there are plenty of anecdotes to put meat on the bones.

The author & many of the craftsmen quoted lament the state of the trades covered for reasons which still seem to apply 50 years later! However the book is not universally downbeat & thanks to the authors style it’s an enjoyable read.

The book is very informative & written with a dose of wit – I found it very amusing. Its style brought to mind a ‘History of Men’s Fashion’ by our own NJS.

In the chapter on shirt-making the author mentions the problems presented when customers insist on styles unsuited to their physique & the diplomacy required from the maker, he quotes one shirtmaker as saying –‘if a customer arrives in the shop wanting his shirts & collars to be the same as we make for Mr Soandso, I can’t say to him – “Oh no you don’t! You are a little sawn-off runt with no neck & we can’t possibly let you wear anything like that” ’.

Quite so but I happily know a couple of craftsmen who would have let rip & for whom being diplomatic would have meant omitting only the word ‘little’ from such a tirade!

The Gentleman's Gazette review criticised the lack of illustrations & commented that “nowadays readers appreciate photos”; it suggested it would have been better “with a range of high quality photos”. I’d say it’s now a bit late for the author to take notice for a second edition! In addition it was probably quite a struggle to get any photos into a book on a relatively esoteric subject in the late 50’s when rationing of paper hadn’t been long abolished. Generally the review seemed to miss the spirit of the book.

The book gives a good insight into the trades covered along with their trials & tribulations; it’s an entertaining & very enlightening read. Well worth searching out at any reasonable price but especially so as it can be found for just a few pounds; my excellent condition copy cost £3.50 via Amazon (most prices range from £5 to £20). Apparently a virtually identical version was printed for the US market titled 'Nothing but the Best: the Tradition of English Craftsmen from Edwardian to Elizabethan'.

Regards
Russell

[andreyb]

I agree with Russell's review -- this is a little gem of a book.

An online version (to glance through, not to read!... as Russell suggests, it is much better to spend 5 quids for a real copy of the book): http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015065439179

Andrey