Product Description

Fascinating architectural history of Victorian domestic environment (ca. 1840-1900). Over 360 handsome illustrations document interiors, exteriors of Queen Anne cottages, romantic stone castles, exquisite Italianate villas, simple brownstones, curious octagon houses, imposing mansard-roofed mansions, and much else. Text provides a wealth of stories about builders and owners. Valuable reference for lovers of Victoriana, for scholars and students of social and architectural history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #431630 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 235 pages

Customer Reviews

The Man Who Raised Our Consciousness
15 years before this book appeared, the author, born in Austria but converted to a love of Victorian architecture upon his arrival in the US, produced "The Gingerbread Age," the first popular volume that dared to express admiration for a period in building then considered the nadir of the art. In his Foreword to this work he talks of the "torrent of fan mail" that followed. It's not saying too much to maintain that his work was responsible for the eventual revival in Victorian architecture which began with the hippies creating Painted Ladies in '70's San Francisco and swept the nation in the mid-'80's. Having established the true quality of post-Greek-Revival, pre-World-War-I houses, he turns here to a deeper analysis and description of the different major styles--Gothic, Italianate, octagons, Mansards, Queen Anne, Richardson Romanesque. Lavishly illustrated with bw photographs, floor plans, and reproductions of period pictures, its text written in everyday language with little specialized jargon, and provided with a large appendix listing where to view existing Victorians and a sound list of books to go on to, the book concentrates chiefly on exteriors, though some views of notable rooms are included. If you're looking for good basic overviews of domestic building of the era, Maass's two books are indispensable to your collection. As a social historian, I consult them often.

Presents fascinating architectural coverage
Over two hundred black and white illustrations blends an architectural survey with a history of Victorian times from 1840-1900, examining the many styles of town and country homes of the times and describing both interiors and exteriors. The Victorian Home In America presents fascinating architectural coverage.