author
Edwin W. Foster
A practical early-20th-century woodworking teacher, he wrote clear, hands-on guides that helped beginners learn carpentry step by step. His books reflect a classroom-minded approach, focused on tools, technique, and useful craft knowledge.
2 Audiobooks
Carpentry and Woodwork
by Edwin W. Foster
Elementary woodworking
by Edwin W. Foster
About the author
Edwin W. Foster was an American woodworking educator and author best known for instructional books including Elementary Woodworking and Carpentry and Woodwork. His writing is straightforward and useful, aimed at helping students and beginners build real skills in working with wood.
A historical profile from Long Island says he served for six years as secretary of the Department of Science and Technology at Pratt Institute, and that he wrote Carpentry and Woodwork in 1916. His surviving books suggest a teacher who cared about method, accuracy, and making technical subjects approachable.
Today, Foster is remembered less as a literary figure than as a clear explainer of craft. For listeners interested in practical knowledge, manual skills, or the history of shop education, his work offers a window into how woodworking was taught in the early 1900s.