David R Russell, a colossus among collectors of antique woodworking tools, has died aged 82.
“Through a lifelong passion for early woodworking tools David built up what was hailed as one of the foremost collections in the Western world. Determined to share the vast knowledge he acquired along the way, he published Antique Woodworking Tools, a highly illustrated book that has become a standard work of reference for tool collectors and dealers and indeed for anyone interested in industrial archaeology or the history of material culture.”
Antiques Trade Gazette Reporter
23 April, 2018
I personally did not know David, but I knew of him and I did own his excellent work ‘Antique Woodworking Tools’. In late August, 2013 I was contacted by David’s publisher, John Adamson, about this very website, NorrisPlanes.com. John praised the site and offered to help out by providing us with images of Norris handplanes from the book. This gesture would help to ‘plug up’ some of the missing model numbers that the site needed. The offer even extended to images of other Norris tools that the firm had produced over the years. It was an offer which was quickly accepted, and the site is now much better for it.
It is with sadness that I hear of David’s recent passing on March 21, 2018. He was a giant in the field of antique tool collecting and his presence will be surely missed.
Obituaries for David Russell can be found at the links below:
The Guardian
The Daily Telegraph
The Scotsman
The Herald
Antiques Trade Gazette
