Unabridged Dover (1990) republication of Our Special Catalog for Home Builders, published by Sears, Roebuck and Co., 1910. Publisher's Note. Hundreds of black-and-white illustrations. 8 color plates. 176pp. 8.375 x 11.25. Paperbound. ISBN 0-486-26320-7.
All across American during the great building boom of the early 20th century, one of the most popular sources for home-building materials, fixtures and trimmings was the Sears, Roebuck catalog for home builders. This fascinating volume, reprinted from a rare surviving edition of that remarkably comprehensive publication, offers a peerless view of the how thousands of Americans approached the practicalities and aesthetics of homebuilding in 1910.
A huge selection of materials needed to build and finish an early 20th-century home … lumber, siding, roofing, gable ornaments, interior moldings, oak-veneered front doors, art glass windows, chandeliers, stair balusters, bronce door locks, porcelain enameled bathtubs, furnaces for hard and soft coal, ornate porch rails and Craftsman china closets among them … are depicted in detailed line drawings with the original advertising copy, specifications and prices.
Leafing through these pages, it quickly becomes apparent just how many readers … and buyers … this extraordinary book attracted. Many of the products and designs are still very much a part of the American landscape, easily recognizable in nearly every community in America today. Students and enthusiasts f American home and home-product design will find this unique publication an authentic and reliable sourcebook of early 20th-century Americana. Anyone interested in renovating houses of this era will find it indispensable.
Cover design by Frank J. Moore.
(The above commentary is provided by Dover Publications, Inc.)
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