National Upholstery Association - Reference Materials

Below is a table with book titles from our personal libraries. Use the scroll bar to see all titles. Click on a book to learn more about the title and read a full description. Looking for a specific word or term? Use the Filter (then click "Add Condition") to search on any field (this feature may not be available on mobile).

Have a book recommendation not on the list? Email us at info@nationalupholsteryassociation.org and let us know!

The following book lists are recommended reading and great additions to any upholsterer's library. These lists were compiled by Lewis Mabon, our resident librarian, who has built a personal furniture library of over 3,000 books. For any questions about sourcing these books, you can reach him by email.

Click each link to download a PDF of suggested books for the subject.

An NUA member reached out to Lewis for recommendations for books for European style traditional horsehair build-up and cushions, and these were his recommendations:

Sweden: The Upholsterer's Craft
ISBN-13: 978-91-519-7378-4
A 2021 reprint of a 1988 textbook used by Swedish vocational schools. Well photographed techniques using mostly horsehair stuffing.

England: The Upholsterer's Step-by-Step Handbook
by Alex Law, ISBN 978-1-250-04985-8
Clear illustrations in chapter "Building up the Pad"

Spain: Upholstery, Basic & Traditional Techniques
ISBN: 978-0-7643-4855-6
Color photographs and illustrations of both traditional and modern techniques.

Germany: Deep-Seated, The Secret Art of Upholstery
ISBN: 978-3-89790-681-5
Beautiful color photographs of cutaways, but not much technique explanations.

France: La Réfection des Sièges
by Claude Hache, ISBN: 978-2-7072-0857-6
In French only with color photographs and illustrations.

A note on foreign-language books: Don't let a title in another language keep you from a great resource! Most smartphones can translate printed text in real time. Point your camera at a page using the free Google Translate app (its camera mode overlays the English translation right on the page), Google Lens, or the built-in translation feature in your iPhone's Camera and Photos apps, and the text is translated on the spot. It works especially well with books like this one, where the photos and diagrams do much of the teaching and the text fills in the details. Translation isn't perfect, particularly with trade terminology, but it's more than good enough to follow a technique step by step.