The Prop Shop Bookshelf
Every shop has a shelf of books over the desk, and they're usually a mixed collection ranging from
oddities that were acquired for a specific project years ago and never looked at again to valuable
reference books that are in constant use. Here are some suggestions of useful reference books
that should be on everyone's shelf. Obviously this is just a small selection, and I am anxious to
hear about the books that other props people could not do without.
Everyone has at least a few favourite books they couldn't work without. Heck, I've thought of two
or three more since I wrote this piece! So drop me a
line with your list, for the next installment of the Prop Shop Bookshelf.
Use these links to help you select the subject:
[Prop and Theatre Texts]
[Design and Visual Reference]
[Drawing and Painting]
[Materials and Construction]
[Furniture and Upholstery]
[Safety]
PROP AND THEATRE TEXTS
- The Prop Builder's Molding & Casting Handbook by Thurston James. Betterway Publications,
1989. ISBN 1-55870-128-1
- A good overview of methods of moldmaking and casting in different materials. All the basic
techniques, terms and materials are covered, and as with all of Thurston James' books, the
illustrative photos are nice and clear.
- The Prop Builder's Mask-Making Handbook by Thurston James. Betterway Books, 1990. ISBN
1-55870-166-4
- This is the most thorough of Thurston's books, and I think probably the subject closest to his
heart. He gives good background material on the history and use of masks, then covers specific
techniques and problems, including making live face casts, sculpting character masks, negative and
positive molds, etc. He demonstrates the use of a variety of materials: papier mach‚, latex,
neoprene, thermoplastic, vacuum-formed styrene, celastic, metal, fur and leather. The section on
leather mask-making is extensive and includes good background information on the Commedia
dell'Arte and its various characters.
- The What, Where, When of Props by Thurston James. Betterway Books, 1992. ISBN
1-55870-257-1
- Nothing can take the place of a good research library, but many theatres are in places that lack
that basic amenity, and you may have to get by with just this book. All the big areas are covered,
including eating and drinking, furniture, writing equipment, home appliances, sceptres and
crowns, armour and weapons, scientific equipment, and even Catholic and Jewish ritual apparatus.
Each item and object is identified by the date it first appeared, and what country it was found in
or identified with. Most are illustrated with simple but very adequate line drawings. The main
problem with this book is that it needs to be about five times thicker than its very spare 222
pages. But it's still a very useful book for all shops, especially those in out-of-the-way places where
a good research library isn't close to hand.
- The Backstage Handbook by Paul Carter, Broadway Press, 1988. ISBN 0-911747-14-1
- Probably the one book that every theatre shop - electrics, sound, props, carpentry, wardrobe or
whatever - should have. At first glance this might seem to be just another pocket manual for
stage carpenters, but in fact it contains a wealth of information useful for almost everyone, from
names of tools to identifying textile fibre content to the parts of a chair. If there's any bit of shop
information you need to know, look here first.
- Pocket Ref by Thomas J. Glover. Sequoia Publishing, 1993. ISBN 0-9622359-0-3
- Any information you can't find in The Backstage Handbook will probably be in here. An
incredibly dense little book of miscellanous information: lumber sizes, computer codes, air
velocities, CB and other radio codes, properties of glues, solvents and paints, drill bit sizes,
maximum slope of conveyor belts, metric conversion, and thousands of other lists and tables of
information. (It even lists telephone numbers for reporting lost credit cards around the world!).
Frequently updated and well organized. Thin paper and tiny print, but then it's almost 500 pages
and only 3" by 5«" and less than three quarters of an inch thick!