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(More customer reviews)Dover Publications has done an outstanding service in reprinting home plan books of past eras, and S.B. Reed's "Victorian Dwellings for Village and Country" is one of the best. A complete reproduction of the 1885 edition of this book, the Dover reprint is a fascinating and beautiful glimpse into one of home architecture's richest eras.
The plan of the book is simple and informative. It is a collection of 35 marvelously detailed designs for homes that range from a humble three-room cottage to an imposing boarding house. Each selection contains front and side (and in some cases, rear) elevations, along with floor plans for the first and (for the 2- and 3-story buildings) second stories. Each building is accompanied by a charming descriptive essay and a detailed estimate of the 1885 cost to build it.
The building plans bear such picturesque names as "Lillie Lake," "Willimantic," "Ravenswood," and "Stepping Stones." Interspersed among the design profiles are a few short essays on such relevant topics as plumbing and building cost estimation.
The Victorian language of the descriptive essays is a delight. Consider this description of the New Brighton (Design XV): "It has a tasty and picturesque exterior, and is convenient, cosey [sic] and cheerful within." But even more delightful are the floor plans and elevations. Covered verandas, inglenooks, decorative trim, towers and balconies--the full extravagant vocabulary of Victorian architecture is gloriously preserved.
This book will be treasured by historians, old house restorationists, artists, students of architecture and many more.
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Excellent reprint of a rare catalog of house designs specifies construction materials, anticipated costs, plumbing, heating and other fixtures. Includes floor plans and elevations for 35 different residences, among them the charming "Asbury," a one-story seaside summer cottage ($700), the "Islip," a stylish "cottage" with verandas and balconies ($4,500), and the magnificent "Arlington," a five-story villa with over 15 rooms, a furnace, water, gas, bells and "speaking tubes ($10,000!). An indispensible volume for students of architecture, preservationists, home restorers and anyone intrigued by social and economic aspects of late-Victorian life. 149 illus.
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