pipe in hand, leather-patch covered elbow resting upon the arm of my
chair

It struck me as an original thought, as I don't recall being exposed to
such an idea, that wood turning has a history of being snubbed as a
valuable craft.

Consider other crafts: the glass crafts such as stained glass work,
crystal and glass shaping; textile weaving; metal working; and stone
sculpture. Additionally, within the wood crafts, reflect on carving,
intarsia, marquetry, lutherie and furniture making. There are historical
bodies and progressions of work in each field held in the highest
regard, not only through modern appreciation of museum holdings, but
during the times the pieces were created. Every craft above has been,
and remains, in demand by the ruling and upper economic segments of
society.

Castles, palaces and expensive homes were adorned with fine textiles,
silver and goldsmithed items, finely crafted furniture, ornate wood and
stone carvings in the architecture, as well as free-standing. For
hundreds to thousands of years these items have been sought after and
coveted.

This is not to say that all work in a given craft was valued equally,
but within that craft there have been craftsmen and artisans whose work
was appreciated and thus commanded great respect by society's elites,
which by and large meant that it was recognized by all society to be
highly regarded with a common desire to own similar works.

Where is the historical appreciation for wood turning? I dare say there
is none. There has been no golden era of wood turning. Kings and the
well-to-do have never sought out a turned wood item to possess as a
valuable and status indicative item. Turned wood was and remains largely
relegated to utilitarian, consumable, disposable pieces of every day
use. A wooden plate was the poor mans version of the higher economic
class's pewter, porcelain, bone china or silver dinnerware. A wooden
bowl was kitchenware, not suitable for serving or displaying in finer
settings. Looking to other products of the craft, we find the bodgers -
Itinerant folks who camped in the forests turning chair parts for a
pittance. Again, not especially valued as fine craftsmanship or
appreciated for artistic value - just components a chair maker would out
source to those further down the socioeconomic ladder.

As modern turners we are up against ingrained, historic notions of wood
turning's place in the hierarchy of desirable items. There is no widely
held belief that one should strive to own items turned from wood. Is it
any wonder the artisans of today, by and large, have to rely on other
sources of income to continue developing their body of work? The current
interest and technical developments in wood turning may turn out to be
our golden era. By many accounts it began to get footing about 35 years
ago, with great strides in acceptance by some in the upper levels of
society taking place in the last 20 years. I believe it's safe to say
that society's overall desire for wood turning in the future will owe
much to the recent and current artisans and craftsmen who have struggled
to gain recognition and acceptance among and along with the other hand
crafts.

--
"Sure we'll have fascism in America, but it'll come disguised
as 100% Americanism." -- Huey P. Long