This book seeks to preserve the memory of the coopers skills, tracing the history of the craft and describing and illustrating how a barrel was made.

Table of contents

• The barrel: an invention of distinction;
• Making a barrel; 
• Timber;
• Ancillary tradesmen;
• The village cooper;
• Coopering in the cities;
• Naval coopering; Buoys;
• Gunpowder;
• Maritime coopering; 
• Miscellany;
• Coopering today;
• Bibliography; 
• Glossary;
• Places to visit