『最大的小發明：螺絲與螺絲刀』（ One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw

這應該是2004年的筆記:

台北貓頭鷹出版社 Witold Rybczynski 三書：

『等待周末：周休二日的起源與意義』 梁永安 譯2004 Waiting for the weekend W Rybczynski - 1991 - New York, NY, USA: Viking

『金窩、銀窩、狗窩：人類打造舒適家居的歷史』 20011 Home: A Short History of an Idea W Rybczynski - 1987 - New York, NY: Penguin Books

『螺絲、起子演化史 』吳光亞 譯2001 One good turn: a natural history of the screwdriver and the screw W Rybczynski - 2000 - New York: Scribner

http://www.cite.com.tw/product_info.php?products_id_serial=YK1410

2001 年的『螺絲、起子演化史 』在 2004年大陸重新翻譯：

『最大的小發明：螺絲與螺絲刀』（ One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw（ 《螺絲、起子演化史》是機械天才與偉大發現的故事，帶領讀者漫遊自古希臘到維多利亞時代的蘇格蘭大港格拉斯哥，探索義大利文藝復興時期的武器設計，到美國工業時代的汽車設計。作者以一向優美、清晰的敘述，為這個改變文明走向的工具塑造新形象。）

這種器具史類的書 很有學問（本書還只有大體說明而已，不過它也提出許多諸如「機械天才」之特質等。 THIS TS A WEIGHTY SUBJECT WORTH YOU SET TEETH IN?）。我們也可以學點英文。譬如說， One good turn deserves another. 意思為『行善積德』；

do (sb) a good turn OLD-FASHIONED

to do something kind which helps someone else

(from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

他是從O.E. D等英美辭典和法國百科全書等圖書來溯源英法文 SCREWDRIVER 的歷史

『最大的小發明：螺絲與螺絲刀』將 Shingler's Hammer 翻譯成鍛造用器具，應為錯誤 —它用在修 屋頂板,等等 SHINGLER'S HAMMER

http://images.google.com.tw/images?q=shingler%27s+hammer&hl=zh-TW

原書首頁一句：

I am a bit down. The best tool is hardly a weighty subject as the best architecture or the best city, topics I could really sink my teeth into. 。

了解它必須知道作者以前的出書: 1995之書City life: urban expectations in a new world
W Rybczynski - 1995 - New York: Scribner

The perfect house: a journey with the Renaissance master Andrea Palladio
W Rybczynski - 2002 – Scribner

黎辛斯基 Witold Rybczynski 為波蘭裔，1943 年出生於愛丁堡，在英國與加拿大的耶穌會學校進學。他獲有蒙特婁麥基爾（McGill ）大學的建築學士（1960 ）與碩士（1972）學位，著有五十多項關於房屋、建築、與科技主題的著述，包括《馴虎》、《紙英雄》、《世上最美麗的房屋》、《等候週末》、《漫游建築世界》、《城市生活》（ City Life），以及使他榮獲克里斯多福獎（ Christopher Award）和魯卡斯獎（ J. Anthony Lukas Prize）的《遠方林中的空地》，最新作品為《螺絲、起子演化史》。他定期為《大西洋月刊》、《紐約客》雜誌、《紐約時報雜誌》及《紐約書評》撰稿，目前則任教於賓州大學。

讀者可參考 http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Witold+Rybczynski+&hl=en&lr=&lr=&start=20&sa=N ：

Paper heroes: a review of appropriate technology
W Rybczynski - 1980 - Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday
The most beautiful house in the world
W Rybczynski - 1990 - New York, NY, USA: Penguin Books

2007/8/25 重翻新買的 稍微補充

查Wikipedia article "Henry Chapman Mercer".

Henry Chapman Mercer (b. June 24 1856, Doylestown, Pennsylvania - d. 1930, Bucks County, Pennsylvania).

Henry Chapman Mercer was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania in 1856. He was educated at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Mercer, however, only practiced law for a short period of time. The University of Pennsylvania Museum appointed Mercer as the Curator of American and Prehistoric Archeology in the early 1890's. Leaving his position with the Museum in the late 1890's, Mercer devoted himself to finding old American artifacts and learning about German pottery. Mercer believed that the American society was being destroyed by industrialism, which inspired his search for American Artifacts. Mercer founded Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in 1898 after apprenticing himself to a Pennsylvania German potter. Mercer was also influenced by the American Arts and Crafts Movement.

Henry Mercer is well known for his research and books about ancient tool making, his ceramic tile creations, and his engineering and architecture. Major accomplishments included the assembly of the collection of early American tools now housed in the Mercer Museum. Mercer's tile work which makes up the floor of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and many other noteworthy buildings and houses. In the Pennsylvania State Capitol, Mercer created a series of mosaic images for the floor of the building. The series of four hundred mosaics trace the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from prehistoric times. The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the largest single collection of Mercer's tiles. Other collections of tiles by Mercer can be found at Rockefeller's New York estate, Grauman's Chinese Theater, and the casino at Monte Carlo.

The Bucks County Historical Society now owns Fonthill, which is open to the public, as is the Mercer Museum. The Moravian Pottery and Tile Works is owned and operated by the Bucks County Department of Parks & Recreation. These three buildings make up "the Mercer Mile". All three buildings were designed and constructed by Henry Mercer in the early part of the 20th century.

Henry Ford stated that the Mercer museum was the only museum worth visiting in the US, and the Mercer Museum was apparently Henry Ford's inspiration for his own museum, The Henry Ford, located in Dearborn, Michigan. The Mercer Museum houses over forty thousand artifacts from early American society.

Henry Mercer wrote extensively on his interests, which included Archeology, Early tool making, German stove plates, and ceramics.

He died in 1930 at Fonthill, the house he designed and constructed from reinforced concrete in 1908-1912.

Publications by Henry Mercer

• The Bible in Iron
• The Lenape Stone
• Ancient Carpenters tools
• Guidebook To The Tiled Pavement In The Pennsylvania State Capitol
• The Hill-caves of Yucatan

Many books and articles have been written about Henry Mercer and his work:

Publications about Henry Mercer

• Henry Chapman Mercer and the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works by Cleota Reed

• Design and Construction Techniques of an American Vernacular Architect: The Work of Dr. Henry Chapman Mercer 1982 MIT Master of Architecture Thesis by Kurt Eichenberger

External links

• The Bucks County Moravian Pottery & Tile Works
• The Bucks County Historical Society
• Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee's Mercer Biography

Henry Maudslay