House Styles in America: The Old-House Journal Guide to the Architecture of Americanhomes

by James C. Massey and Shirley Maxwell

Book Overview

This fresh and original approach to the subject of historic preservation features sketches of each of the major American house styles from 1650 to 1950, plus directions for identifying styles,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140281126
• ISBN13: 9780140281125
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam
• Length: 262 Pages
• Weight: 2.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 9.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A great book for house styles overview

It is a great book for the introduction of the history of American house styles.

Best book on the subject

So why is it out of print? (Had no trouble getting one though.) This book is based on a series of magazine articles for Old Home Journal, so the style is informal. The carefully chosen color pictures set it apart from its competition, A Field Guide to American Houses, by the other husband and wife team. But mostly it's the authors' ability to explain in simple language the events that caused the rise and fall of the various styles: the switch to stud framing, the widely circulated pattern books, the Arts and Craft movement, World War I and the various European styles brought home by the soldiers, etc.

A house for everyone

House Styles in America is a well constructed collection of american houses dating back to the old Ironworks houses, Like the Turner house and Bacons Castle,but this book also contains modern houses, like Phillip Johnson's glass house. This book is a great addition to anyones growing architecture library.