Detail, Cottage and Constructive Architecture

It is impossible to adequately encapsulate this book in brief copy. The 75 plates contain nearly 1000 individual illustrations ranging from full house elevations to trim detail. In fact, the detail is the great strength of the book. Next to a front elevation of a fireplace mantel, for example, there is a sectional view to show construction. Plans play a much smaller role than construction detail throughout the book. The mention of cottages in the title is a bit misleading compared with current usage. Many of the cottages have servants' quarters and there is even an Italian villa among them. This is a book that revels in the glory that was Victorian architecture. There are numerous designs for piazzas, porches, verandas, entrances, windows, window caps, cornices, gingerbread trim, towers, staircases, mantels and even a selection of commercial exteriors and interiors, some of which can still be seen in housing stock of the mid-Victorian era.