About Astragal

The Astragal Press was founded by Martyl and Emil Pollak in 1983 to publish books, at affordable prices, for those interested in antique tools and early trades and technologies. We publish new works as well as reprints of out-of-print classics, and have developed into one of the principal resources for those interested in antique tool collecting, metalworking, carriage building, early science and early trades.

Publishing started with the 1st edition of A Guide to American Wooden Planes and Their Makers, a groundbreaking work in the field of tool identification and historiography, by Press founders Martyl and Emil Pollak. Since then, Astragal Press' book list has grown to over 80 Astragal titles, as well as titles published by others that we think will be of interest to our readers. In 1996, Martyl and Emil Pollak received the Early American Industries Association's prestigious J.D. Hatch Award for scholarly excellence in writing related to the field of early American industries.

In December of 2007, Astragal Press became an imprint of Finney Company. Finney Company and Astragal Press had a working relationship prior to the acquisition. With common customers, the synergy between the two organizations made this and ideal merger of resources. Both customers and suppliers benefit from adding Astragal Press as an imprint of Finney Company.

As preeminent publishers in our niche market, we are always receptive to suggestions from our readers regarding ideas for new titles or classic reprints. Please contact us if you have any ideas for future publishing projects.