ANST - The Mastermyr Find - Viking Age Toolchest from Gotland

[rmhowe]

_The Mastermyr Find_ by Greta Arwiddson and Gosta Berg has been 
republished.  ISBN 0-9650755-1-6  The book is $17.95 plus $2.00 
postage in the US.

Nearly two years ago I contacted Norm Larson to try to get a copy of 
this book for myself only to find that it was no longer obtainable. 
Norm had gotten the very last 50 books of its earlier printing of 800 
and had quickly sold out. I tried for quite a while to locate one and 
was unable to find one. Anyway, I kept bugging Norm to see if he could 
get any more. I'm a hell of a pest when I want something.

(Norm sells wood and metalwork crafts books primarily aimed at modern
craftsmen covering a fairly wide time range but rarely this early in 
period. I only know him because I tried to get the book originally.)

After considerable discussion and pestering on my part he decided to 
take a chance and see if he could republish it. After all, the 50 
he'd had had sold quickly but he had to print 2000 which is quite a
risk. 

(I should mention here that I have NO financial interest in this and 
have never met Norm Larson in person.) 

However, he finally got permission to reprint it and it has just come 
out again at a very reasonable price in paperback, in English. He was 
very conscientious about the printing quality of the photographs, 
returning the original proofs to the printer for improvement, which 
is excellent.

And I _finally_ got my copy and I'm happy with it. :)

This reprinting is soft cover, 90 pages, 8 1/4 X 10 3/4 inches, with 
52 photographs and over 100 illustrations.   

Norm Larson Books 
5426 E. Hwy. 246
Lompoc, CA 93436.
Fax 805-735-8367, Ph 800-743-4766 or 805-735-2095 
<larbooks at impulse.net>
(As far as I know he doesn't have a web page, but he does 
issue a catalog.)

At a time when interest in the historical crafts of wood and metal 
working are achieving renewed heights of interest, and also when 
medieval reenactment societies are blossoming over much of the globe
recreating life and crafts as they were then for educational purposes 
and for fun, _The Mastermyr Find_ is a rare prize.  

It's a literal time capsule of tools, and cooking implements that 
once sank to the bottom of a lake which later became a farmer's field 
and was rediscovered by plowing in 1936.

Within it's pages you will find the diverse tools of an accomplished
craftsman, perhaps a shop, including both metal and woodworking tools, 
locks, bells, cooking apparatus such as a hanging griddle and cauldron 
parts, and other objects necessary to daily life. It makes the 
recreation of an early medieval tool kit possible for those who wish 
to attempt true historical techniques with the proper tools of the
age. 
I highly recommend it.

It's also been enthusiastically reviewed by Jim McCarthy, the editor 
of the Anvil's Ring, the publication of the Artist's Blacksmith 
Association of America (ABANA) and Eric Peterson, the book reviewer 
for the Gristmill, the Publication of the (Nationwide) Mid-West Tool
Collector's Association.

*May be reposted to local SCA/Reenactor email lists, but please not to 
the Rialto or other newsgroups.* 

In Service,

 Master Magnus Malleus, OL, Windmaster's Hill, Atlantia, SCA/GDH
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