Natural waxes and wax-like materials have been used, from time immemorial, for candles, waterproofing, sealing, decorative, preservative, and other purposes. Synthetic waxes and wax-like materials, developed in the last decade, are finding increasing use and are supplanting natural waxes for many purposes. Since different waxes have different properties, each one is used to obtain certain end results. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.