Product Description

This magnificent compendium is the first comprehensive exploration of the Arts and Crafts legacy in the Pacific Northwest. It traces the movement from its nineteenth-century English beginnings to its flowering in Washington and Oregon through the 1920s and beyond, weaving into a tale of idealism and devotion everything from iconic masterpieces to recent discoveries.

You will meet the architects, artists, craftspeople, and entrepreneurs in Seattle, Spokane, Portland, and smaller communities throughout the region in their own words in journal entries, letters, articles, and promotional materials of the period. Included are public and private architecture, furniture, pottery and tile, metalwork, lighting, leaded and stained glass, jewelry, textiles, basketry and the influence of Native American arts, painting and printmaking, photography, graphic arts, and book design.

The ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement—a celebration of craftsmanship and the creative process; an appreciation of sound construction, pleasing proportion, grace, and simplicity; and a comfortable rusticity that sees beauty in nature and honors indigenous materials—found fertile ground in Washington and Oregon. The inspired handiwork of anonymous amateurs and significant regional artists alike yielded a remarkable variety of progressive architect-designed residences, bungalows for everyone, and all manner of artistic and practical furnishings and accessories.

Beautifully illustrated with nearly 400 photographs and period graphics, including rare images published here for the first time, this groundbreaking volume is an authoritative reference, a provocative story, and an irresistible treasure trove for Arts and Crafts collectors and enthusiasts everywhere.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #83282 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

Review
A hefty 398-page reference with hundreds of photographs and period graphics that would appeal to Arts and Crafts aficionados as well as people who love regional history and old homes. Everett Herald 20070920 [The authors] have restored a particular kind of balance to a story that has elsewhere tended to inflate into a grand narrative of 'ultimate bungalows' and the celebration of $25,000 vases, leaving behind a more modest but vastly more influential tale of changes in the way people lived as an American middle-class culture began to form. They have framed this tale as a regional one, but it can also be read as simply an American one, with more rain and taller trees. -- John Luke American Bungalow 20071101 While Arts and Crafts aficionados will delight in this book as an authoritative resource, general readers also will find value in the social context this volume provides. -- Barbara Lloyd McMichael Olympia Olympian 20071202 A comprehensive historic survey, ... a beautifully designed and illustrated keepsake. -- Mary Ann Gwinn Seattle Times 20071202 Functions not only as an examination of this particular region's interpretation of Arts and Crafts, but also as a tale of how and why the movement so captivated the popular imagination, from the vantage point of those who embraced it most fully. Old-House Journal 20080101 Much more than a nostalgic look back in time. It is first and foremost an authoritative reference for the Arts and Crafts movement in Washington and Oregon in the first quarter of the 20th century. It is also a thoughtful and thoroughly enjoyable read and certainly deserves a 'best buy' rating for its cost. -- Rick Stull Artist's Magazine 20080601 Not only a delight to view, read, and handle - it also shines a revealing light on the history and the ethos of sustainability of the Pacific Northwest. -- Leland M. Roth Pacific Northwest Quarterly 20080701 This readable and handsome work describes and analyzes an important aspect of the art and culture of the Pacific Northwest during the early twentieth century and serves as a valuable reference for further research. Scholars, collectors, and interested lay readers will all enjoy and benefit from reading this book. -- William F. Willingham Oregon Historical Quarterly 20080101 Capturing the Pacific Northwest in its definitive artistic moment, this book is a visual delight. -- Janet Ore Western Historical Quarterly 20090401

Review
"A comprehensive historic survey...a beautifully designed and illustrated keepsake."  (Seattle Times )

"They have told this tale as a regional one, but it can also be read as simply an American one, with more rain and taller trees." (American Bungalow )

"A hefty 398-page reference with hundreds of photographs and period graphics that would appeal to Arts and Crafts aficionados as well as people who love regional history and old homes." (Everett Herald )

“This book is not only a delight to view, read, and handle—it also shines a revealing light on the history and the ethos of sustainability of the Pacific Northwest.”

“This readable and handsome work describes and analyzes an important aspect of the art and culture of the Pacific Northwest during the early twentieth century and serves as a valuable reference for further research.  Scholars, collectors, and interested lay readers will all enjoy and benefit from reading this book.”

“Capturing the Pacific Northwest in its definitive artistic moment, this book is a visual delight.”

Review
"As an indispensible new resource, this book belongs in every design library. Effectively connecting many of the dots that have gone missing from previous works about the American Arts and Crafts movement, it also firmly establishes the important role played by the Northwest region in its well-deserved and proper context. It is destined to enrich the work of present and future scholars, while serving to inform a growing number of collectors and afficionados fascinated with this period."
—Paul Duchscherer, Historian and author of Beyond the Bungalow and Along the Bungalow Lines and the series The Bungalow, Inside the Bungalow, and Outside the Bungalow.

Customer Reviews

No longer on the periphery
Seattle, Portland, Spokane, and other areas of the Pacific Northwest step out of the shadows of history in this incredibly well-researched, thorough book. The authors' writing is simultaneously accessible and commanding, and the photographs of historic buildings, antiques, and unearthed "treasures" are wonderful to peruse. It is a top-notch publication that informs those interested in this geographical locale, as well as those interested in the overall Arts and Crafts movement.

Great Book!!
I went to the Seattle Bungalow Fair the last weekend in September 2007. I met both authors and talked to them about their book. They spent lots of time researching the book and are very knowledgeable about the Arts and Crafts movement. I have been able to peruse it but have not had a chance to read it from cover to cover. It is a great book to just look at the pictures and captions. I am looking forward to learning more about the movement here in the Northwest. They have captured the true essence of the Northwest Arts and Crafts Movement. I would highly recommend that if you are in to Arts and Crafts, Bungalows, Mission, etc. that this is a must have book.
Paula

Wonderful book about a lost past
This is not only a beautiful book; it is a major work of research. The authors have done an enormous amount of work, sleuthing out vanished firms, forgotten artists, and rare photographs of long-gone objects. The Arts and Crafts Movement created amazing houses and objects all over the world, and the Northwest was a center of activity. Styles changed; houses got torn down, furniture wore out, pottery and lamps got tossed. The result is a major tragedy. The authors of this book had trouble finding even photographs of much of the wonderful material created. However, today, we still have much excellent art and craft activity in the Northwest, thanks to the lasting legacy of concern for individual and handmade beauty. Unfortunately, mass-produced junk--worse and worse every year--is unavoidable. One hopes this book will arouse more interest in personal creativity at all levels.