ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that pattern books were not just used as training manuals for craftspeople and as catalogues for consumers, but also as a means of communication between them. Historical studies of reading have paid attention to readership and the practice of reading. The chapter considers three categories of readers: intended, possible and real. Literary theory explains the 'intended' reader as 'the reader which the author had in mind'. Furniture pattern books also, as a genre of books, repay a detailed analysis of readership. Many pattern books mentioned their readers either in the title, on the title page, in the preface or in the text. First of all, titles suggest prospective readers as well as the purpose of the books. Chippendale's Director was the first pattern book with 'cabinet-maker' in its title; and, after him, came many others. In addition to the clearly specified 'intended' readers, the title page, preface, descriptions and plates of some books also implied other readers.
