Ira Samuel Griffith

Ira Samuel Griffith was an American educator and woodworking writer born in 1874 and died in 1924. His books focused on carpentry, woodwork, and the teaching of manual and industrial arts, and many were designed as straightforward textbooks for schools and trade students.

His published work includes Essentials of Woodworking, Carpentry, Woodwork for Beginners, Correlated Courses in Woodwork and Mechanical Drawing, and Teaching Manual and Industrial Arts. The books present practical skills in a direct, usable way, which helps explain why they continued to be reprinted and circulated long after his lifetime.

Sources from his books describe him in academic roles connected with manual-arts education, including service as an assistant professor at Bradley Polytechnic Institute and later as chairman of the Manual Arts Department at the University of Missouri. Taken together, his writing shows a teacher deeply interested in making craft knowledge systematic, accessible, and useful.