Andrew Jackson Downing, The Architecture of Country Houses, 1850, reprinted by Dover Publications, New York

Andrew Jackson Downing, The Architecture of Country Houses, Unabridged Dover (1969) republication of the work first published by D. Appleton & Co. in 1850. 321 figures, 33 architectural designs. New preface by J. Stewart Johnson. xxiv + 484pp. 5.375 x 8.5 inches. Paperbound. ISBN 0-486-22003-6.

Available from Amazon and Mitchell Publications.

Review by Sarah E. Mitchell

The Architecture of Country Houses, by famed architect, interior designer, garden designer, and early Victorian trend-setter Andrew Jackson Downing, is an excellent resource for those who own homes from the 1840 to 1870 period, architectural and interior design students, and people interested in the early Victorian lifestyle. It features 33 house designs, in styles of Gothic, Italian, Bracketed, Swiss, and more (also includes plans for stables); 44 pages on furniture (including examples in the Gothic, Elizabethan, Cottage, Louis XIV, Louis XV, and other styles); 41 pages on the "treatment of interiors," in the Greek Revival, Gothic, Elizabethan, Italian, Bracketed, and Romanesque modes; as well as many pages of advice on everything from proper ventilation to what materials should be used in building.

Also available: Andrew Jackson Downing, Victorian Cottage Residences, unabridged Dover (1981) republication of the 1873 edition of the work first published in 1842, under the title Cottage Residences.

Go to the home page.
Go to Bibliography of Design.
Go to Architectural History Articles and Links.
Go to Historic American Interior Design.
Sponsored by Sarah E. Mitchell Information Services:

Genealogy and Property Research

Architecture and Interior Design Research

Direct e-mail to Sarah E. Mitchell.