I am looking for the source of the quote on the cover of Gustav Stickley's publication The Craftsman. The quote is: "The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne"
I assumed it was an Old English saying but Kevin Rodel thinks it may be from the Old Dutch
I would greatly appreciate any help.
-Collin

The phrase "The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne" is quoted from

-- Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 - 1400)in his essay
The Parliament of Fowls [1380-1386]

FZweig,
Thank you very much for the information.
-Collin

Hello Collin,
The meaning for the writing as quoted by the other person is "life is so short and the craft is so long to learn." I have been a craftsman for soon to be 57 years and I am still learning.
Right now I am working on a Limbert reproduction of a taborette which is 26" high with a 16" round top and a square shelf on the bottom section about 8" off the floor. I am making it out of walnut instead of white oak, but in the A&C style it is acceptable. I will finish it natural with about 7 coats of Tung Oil, hand rubbed.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones

The quote is: "The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne"
I assumed it was an Old English saying but Kevin Rodel thinks it may be from the Old Dutch
I would greatly appreciate any help.
-Collin[/QUOTE]

Collin, are you sure Kevin didn't mean "Als ik kan"? This is Dutch for "to the best of my abilities."

Speaking of THE CRAFTSMAN, I have a dozen or so copies and know very little about it. If there is a website I haven't managsd to find it. Any guidance will be appreciated. Thanks.

The magazine Craftsman was published by Gustav Stickley in the first part of the 20th century and is sought for it's reviews and historical reference to the American Arts & Crafts Movement. I believe that the entire run of Craftsman magazines have been scanned onto CD,s and are available.

If there is anything else you would like to know just contact me or post it here.

Fred

183 issues from 1901-1916, originals are very collectable

I reviewed The Canterbury Talesand have two cents to toss into the Als Ik Kandebate. In Middle English, the word als means "as" and kanmeans "know how." Chaucer usually uses "I" just as in Modern English but occasionally uses Ik. See "The Reeves Tale," lines thirteen, seventeen,etc. Thus, Als Ik Kanis Middle English and means, "As I Know How."

I apologize for the confusing lack of spaces in my previous post; the italicizing feature for the forum is a bit hard to use.

Thanks Ray!

Fred

I don't know anything about the saying,but the San Antonio Public Library has bound volumes of The Craftsman in their reference section.Need to go down there again some day.
I'm sure other libraries must have bound volumes of the magazine as well.

The entire collection of Craftsman issues have been digitized and are available on disks as well as on the web.