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The Specialist
The personal credo of one Lem Putt, a specialist, this book presents the philosophy of a man who loves his trade and has considered every aspect of it.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1929
About the author
Charles Sale
14 books5 followersCharles "Chic" Sale was an American actor and vaudevillian. Named at birth Charles Partlow Sale, he was a son of Frank Orville and Lillie Belle (Partlow) Sale, and brother of writer, actress Virginia Sale-Wren.
In 1929, inspired by a carpenter named 'Lem Putt' from his hometown of Urbana, Illinois, Sale wrote The Specialist, a play about an outhouse builder. Because copyright infringement was widespread in Vaudeville, Sale enlisted the aid of two newspapermen to adapt The Specialist into a book.
In 1929, inspired by a carpenter named 'Lem Putt' from his hometown of Urbana, Illinois, Sale wrote The Specialist, a play about an outhouse builder. Because copyright infringement was widespread in Vaudeville, Sale enlisted the aid of two newspapermen to adapt The Specialist into a book.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
May 31, 2016
I'll be honest, this book is never going to be your all time favourite book, but it is well worth a read.
It's funny, in a gentle kind of way, and it's a window into a whole different time, a whole different world.
I also need to say, I read this because Terry Pratchett said so - there can be no better rating system for a book.
Enjoy of, put it on a shelf, and come back to it in a year and enjoy it all over again.
It's funny, in a gentle kind of way, and it's a window into a whole different time, a whole different world.
I also need to say, I read this because Terry Pratchett said so - there can be no better rating system for a book.
Enjoy of, put it on a shelf, and come back to it in a year and enjoy it all over again.
January 22, 2011
While originally a comedy sketch, the humor is still strong, and he makes some excellent points. As a side benefit you will learn the high art of privy building
January 24, 2020
I remember reading this as a child, 60 years ago and identifying with it as we had our own "two-holer" over behind our woolshed. This short story has lost none of its charm.
April 23, 2018
This quirky little book is full of gentle homespun humor. A written record of an oral story by a Vaudeville performer, this first-person narrative is just asking to be read aloud. It’s not the kind of book I typically read, but I am certainly glad I stumbled upon it. The author/performer was telling the story almost as a tribute to a real person, someone whose sincerity and likability were memorable, and the kind nature of the story shines through. It would be easy for a tale like this to make fun of the main character, but that line is never crossed. Instead, this charming tale of an outhouse specialist projects a kindhearted and almost wholesome tone. A bizarre premise, but a very interesting read.
October 26, 2017
"You can hear the dog barkin' in the distance, bringin' the cows up fer milkin', and the slow squeak of Elmer's windmill pumpin' away day after day the same as me."
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September 5, 2011In all my years of knocking around libraries and bookstores I've only once come across a copy of this: in my uncle's library. I don't know if it survived the fire, though.
This book is meant for pure humor, and it works on that level. But I also found it a fascinating disquisition on outhouse design, covering details like planing (to prevent splinters), depth of reservoirs, lining, venting, reckoning of numbers of seats, etc. I don't know whether anybody ever used this book as a serious manual--but, in the unlikely event I ever needed to build an outhouse, I think it'd be very useful.
In the meantime, it's just a good read, and I'd like to hope that new editions would come out from time to time.
This book is meant for pure humor, and it works on that level. But I also found it a fascinating disquisition on outhouse design, covering details like planing (to prevent splinters), depth of reservoirs, lining, venting, reckoning of numbers of seats, etc. I don't know whether anybody ever used this book as a serious manual--but, in the unlikely event I ever needed to build an outhouse, I think it'd be very useful.
In the meantime, it's just a good read, and I'd like to hope that new editions would come out from time to time.
September 5, 2018
I first read this wonderful book in the mid-1960s and have re-read it on countless occasions in the intervening years. A recent review of it on the Nudge website reminded me that it was time to re-read it yet again, and I wasn’t disappointed! I never tire of it’s delightful quirkiness and homespun wisdom, all the insights into the thought which the narrator, Lem Putt, gave to designing “privies” and the pride he felt when surveying his subsequent creations. Over the past five decades I have enjoyed buying copies for friends, all of whom have found it equally delightful, not only for the amusing narrative but also for William Kermodes’s wonderful illustrations. The Times Literary Supplement described it as ".... innocently Rabelaisian”, a succinctly apt description.
April 14, 2019
Saw Chic Sale again in a film, 'Treasure Island', last week and thought if I saw another of his books again, I'd nabbed it. So I did a few days ago. This tiny little thing has not much more than a transcript of a monologue. It's a neat monologue telling of the business of outhouse written in a humourous way.
As fun as this is, I just wish there was much more to it all. though, I understand this is all Sale wanted this to be.
I understand this was a huge best seller and more came after it. I know of other little books like this one that did very well. I wonder why we see so little of this today.
Bottom line: I recommend this. 7 out of 10 points.
As fun as this is, I just wish there was much more to it all. though, I understand this is all Sale wanted this to be.
I understand this was a huge best seller and more came after it. I know of other little books like this one that did very well. I wonder why we see so little of this today.
Bottom line: I recommend this. 7 out of 10 points.
December 5, 2011
Given to my father 60 years ago by one of his minister friends, I read it today while going through my mother's things. Understated hilarity about masterful building of outhouses, yet there's also a sincere message about pursuing excellence in whatever you do.
April 23, 2017
A classic wee monologue - http://www.chicsale.net/books/special...
Found it on the shelf at my folks' house - used to be my grandfather's. Was a fun read, subtle humour, a great character-piece.
Found it on the shelf at my folks' house - used to be my grandfather's. Was a fun read, subtle humour, a great character-piece.
March 30, 2022
Way back in the mists of time, when all this was just fields, I used to find new bands by reading about the bands I loved and who influenced them.
Aerosmith? Hanoi Rocks? All the work of Guns n Roses. Cheap Trick? Enuff Z'nuff never shut up about them. The Ramones? Thank Skid Row for that one.
But it's never really been a thing with authors. You very rarely get switched on to a writer you didn't know about by an author you love.
Until one Pratchett, T (you may have heard of him) name-checked a couple of influential books in A Slip Of The Keyboard.
And for once, I made a note. And sought them out.
The first of which is The Specialist.
A tiny wee slip of a thing, Mr Sale's chucklesome tale dates back to the 1930s and is basically one guy (the Specialist) explaining what makes the perfect privy.
It's literally a book of toilet humour.
Written, essentially, as a monologue, the Specialist shares his wisdom and a couple of bawdy tales with a prospective customer – providing us, the eavesdropper, with grins and chuckles as the importance of joists and hook-and-eye locks are explored.
In and of itself, it's a fun little curio that won't take more than an hour to read (unless you're easily distracted, knackered, and slow to write your reviews) and for that alone it is worth tracking down.
But for the passionate Pratchett fan, it becomes much more.
You can see where some of the inspiration for Bloody Stupid Johnson came from, the voice Nobby echoes around the edges of the pages, and some of the master's descriptions of Ankh Morpork and other fine Disc settlements are clearly influenced by Sale's witterings.
For the curious reader, The Specialist will entertain.
For the Discworld devotee, it offers so much more.
Aerosmith? Hanoi Rocks? All the work of Guns n Roses. Cheap Trick? Enuff Z'nuff never shut up about them. The Ramones? Thank Skid Row for that one.
But it's never really been a thing with authors. You very rarely get switched on to a writer you didn't know about by an author you love.
Until one Pratchett, T (you may have heard of him) name-checked a couple of influential books in A Slip Of The Keyboard.
And for once, I made a note. And sought them out.
The first of which is The Specialist.
A tiny wee slip of a thing, Mr Sale's chucklesome tale dates back to the 1930s and is basically one guy (the Specialist) explaining what makes the perfect privy.
It's literally a book of toilet humour.
Written, essentially, as a monologue, the Specialist shares his wisdom and a couple of bawdy tales with a prospective customer – providing us, the eavesdropper, with grins and chuckles as the importance of joists and hook-and-eye locks are explored.
In and of itself, it's a fun little curio that won't take more than an hour to read (unless you're easily distracted, knackered, and slow to write your reviews) and for that alone it is worth tracking down.
But for the passionate Pratchett fan, it becomes much more.
You can see where some of the inspiration for Bloody Stupid Johnson came from, the voice Nobby echoes around the edges of the pages, and some of the master's descriptions of Ankh Morpork and other fine Disc settlements are clearly influenced by Sale's witterings.
For the curious reader, The Specialist will entertain.
For the Discworld devotee, it offers so much more.
August 31, 2019
Wonderful little read about user experience and how paying attention to the small details makes all the difference.
“Now," I sez, "how do you want that door to swing? Openin' in or out?" He said he didn't know. So I sez it should open in. This is the way it works out: Place yourself in there. The door openin' in, say about forty-five degree. This gives you air and lets the sun beat in. Now, if you hear anybody comin', you can give it a quick shove with your foot and there you are. But if she swings out, where are you -- can't run the risk of havin' her open for air or sun, because if anyone comes, you can't get up off that seat, reach way around and grab'er without gettin' caught, now can you. He could see I was right.
“Now," I sez, "how do you want that door to swing? Openin' in or out?" He said he didn't know. So I sez it should open in. This is the way it works out: Place yourself in there. The door openin' in, say about forty-five degree. This gives you air and lets the sun beat in. Now, if you hear anybody comin', you can give it a quick shove with your foot and there you are. But if she swings out, where are you -- can't run the risk of havin' her open for air or sun, because if anyone comes, you can't get up off that seat, reach way around and grab'er without gettin' caught, now can you. He could see I was right.
April 23, 2018
This quirky little book is one that should be read aloud, maybe even on a stage. Laced with humor and written tongue-in-cheek, this homespun tale should be savored slowly. In a time long past, this specialist would have been highly sought after. But nowadays, there is not much call for a man who specializes in building outhouses! Still, it is a skill that should not be laughed at or taken lightly. Perhaps some of the expertise of this specialist could be applied to other ventures. Regardless, it is a shallow person indeed will will not learn something from reading this tale.
July 12, 2018
" You've heard lots of pratin' and prattlin' about this bein' the age of specialisation. I am a carpenter by trade. At one time I could of built a house, barn, church or chicken coop. But if seen the need of a specialist in my line, so I studied her. I got her; she's mine. Gentlemen, you are face to face with the champion privy builder of Sangamon County ... "
Fab little 20 min read recommended to me .. Very funny ..
Fab little 20 min read recommended to me .. Very funny ..
September 19, 2019
I only know of this book's existence because it was recommended reading from Sir Terry Pratchett. On this basis seemed a good idea to read the ebook.
A very short conversation with a privy builder essentially, but actually fairly amusing.
Sir Terry read so widely that you can see where he was influenced to include this story in his kingdom of Lancre. Especially with the nail and catalogue.
Flippant, throw-away, but fun. Takes about 10 minutes to read, slowly.
A very short conversation with a privy builder essentially, but actually fairly amusing.
Sir Terry read so widely that you can see where he was influenced to include this story in his kingdom of Lancre. Especially with the nail and catalogue.
Flippant, throw-away, but fun. Takes about 10 minutes to read, slowly.
December 24, 2021
Of course much of this information was "common" knowledge in the late 1800's and early 1900's when my grandparents and great grandparents were growing up. Few people today understand that the annual Sears catalog was of such importance to the average family. And because it's "common" knowledge, really means that most people didn't apply it leading to much comedy. Love the part about if the three holer is too comfortable it can ruin your employee's productivity. Great stuff!
March 10, 2022
I went to a talk about privies, and the speaker mentioned "Chic Sale" as one of many euphemisms for those humble structures. I'd been wanting to read this book for a while, but that talk inspired me to hunt down a copy. It's a quick read full of surprisingly gentle humor considering the subject matter. You'll also learn about all you need to know about how outhouses should be built.
February 27, 2018
A peculiar little book - evidently they had 'Christmas stocking' books in 1930 when this first came out and was a hit. Wry wise humour, enhanced by the illustrations. Should I ever need to commission an outdoor privy this will be my go-to text.
January 22, 2019
Very good, very short book. On the surface it's sort of mundane yet comical but for me it left a lot of lingering thoughts about; being the best at what you do, duty of care, and how intertwined professionalism and the ego can be.
May 19, 2020
I bought this book because Sir Terry Pratchett mentioned it in A slip of the Keyboard. It is a tiiiiiny book. Only about 15 pages or so. It's funny but probably a bit dated. You can borrow my copy if you like.
February 6, 2021
I... didn't get it. I didn't really understand what he was talking about, digging holes and such. Maybe I'm a bit dense, but old books are hard and my brain feels mushy. But whatever joke there was I didn't get it ;-;
December 24, 2022
Shortest book I’ve ever read! Delightfully phrased. And I personally loved discovering the considerations for the user experience here! Lem (the specialist) was an early UX Architect without even knowing it.
December 27, 2017
Recommended to anyone interested in product or service design ...
December 18, 2017
Ostensibly a humor book but interesting stuff on craftsmanship. Only 3 stars because I expected it to be longer.
December 7, 2018
Quirky and cute. Love the ending.
July 6, 2019
Classic Americana ! Brief & Homespun .
June 22, 2020
At a mere 27 pages this is quick read!
Lem is a man who knows what it takes to build a top quality privy and is rightly proud of his craft!
A highly entertaining and skilled piece of writing.
Lem is a man who knows what it takes to build a top quality privy and is rightly proud of his craft!
A highly entertaining and skilled piece of writing.
January 18, 2021
Now, about ventilators...
August 12, 2021
2.5 stars. Funny little book. I now know way more about privy building that I ever thought I would (or wanted to!)
December 26, 2021
Terry Pratchett wrote about this. And I agree, it’s a wonderful little humorous piece.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews