6. Motivations for woodworking: a) hours of work and
leisure time; b) disposable income; c) other factors
From Home Craftsman
17March April 1948 page 56:
[I checked the pages of issues of
American Magazine for 1948, but
failed to locate the article reporting the data
below. Doubtless, the information was published; it is
that, for verification, I am not successful in
locating it. The numbers, though, present some
interesting speculation. For example, information in
issues of the Home Craftsman itself suggests that
the men engaging in woodworking are more than 36
years old. Further, the numbers for unmarried men,
at 19%, seems unusually high. Unmarried men, as a
rule, have other interests, don't they?
In my narrative for each of the
chapters, I will deal with the issue of leisure more
extensively. My research suggests that the concept
of
Leisure was redefined each decade in the
first half of the 20th century. Primarily, time for
leisure activities is an issue of reducing the hours
per week of work. Working 60 hours each week leaves
little energy for such activities as woodworking,
especially before electrification. (In urban areas,
electrification began to "kick in" around 1915, but reported as early as 1907).
Woodwork Ranks High as
Hobby
How high woodworking ranks as a hobby of
American men was recently indicated by a
survey made by the American Magazine
among its male readers. Twenty-seven percent of those readers who
said they indulge in any type of hobby named
woodworking. This was well ahead of
photography, 22 percent, and stamp
collecting, 9 percent, and was surpassed
only by the outdoor hobby, gardening, with
51 percent.
It was found that marriage and age have
little bearing upon the number of men who
get enjoyment out of woodworking. It is the
hobby of 28 percent of the married men
who replied to the questionnaire, and 19
percent of the unmarried; 30 percent
of those under 36 years, and 25
percent of those who have passed that age.
Among indoor games, card playing leads with
83 percent, followed by bowling, 45 percent,
and pool, 21 percent. In outdoor sports
actively engaged in by the readers, fishing
is the favorite with 38 percent, followed by
baseball, 31 percent, and golf, 29 percent.
Source: American Magazine bibliographic details will be given later
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