A Manual of Wood Carving

** "A Manual of Wood-Carving" by Charles Godfrey Leland and John J. Holtzapffel is a handbook from the 1800's that shows how to carve wood, covering the basics to fancy designs. The book teaches how to pick the right tools and wood, and then how to get good at carving. It starts with easy stuff like making marks in the wood, and says that practicing these simple steps is super important. Readers learn to take their time to slowly improve skills before trying harder stuff. The whole idea is to learn the right way from the ground up, building a strong base for anyone wanting to get into the art of carving. **