In the early 20th century, the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition+, on which much of this entry is based, commented, “Of late years carving has gone out of fashion. The work is necessarily slow and requires substantial skill, making the works expensive. Other and cheaper methods of decoration have driven carving from its former place. Machine work has much to answer for, and the endeavor to popularize the craft by means of the village class has not always achieved its own end. The gradual disappearance of the individual artist, elbowed out as he has been, by the contractor, is fatal to the continuance of an art which can never flourish when done at so much a yard.” This statement has proven untrue, as the continued survival of the art and craft of woodcarving can be demonstrated by the large number of woodcarvers+ who have carried on or advanced the tradition in different parts of the world.

The North American Indian+ carves his wooden fish-hook or his pipe stem just as the Polynesian+ works patterns on his paddle. The native ofGuyana+ decorates his cavassa grater+ with a well-conceived scheme of incised scrolls, while the native of Loango Bay+ distorts his spoon with a design of perhaps figures standing up in full relief carrying a hammock.