References and Resources - Including Architecture, Fashion, and Furniture
While not specifically related to miniatures, these books offer invaluable information. If you don't find what you need, please e-mail me at MiniBooks.
Aladdin "Built in a Day" House Catalog, 1917; The Aladdin Company
American Archiecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia; Cyril M. Harris
The American Bungalow, 1880-1930; Clay Lancaster
American Country Houses of the Gilded Age; Arnold Lewis - Opulent architecture reflecting the economic growth of a 30-year time period.
American Dress Patterns Catalog: 1873-1909; Nancy Villa Bryk
American Lighthouses: An Illustrated History; Francis Ross Holland, Jr.
American Log Homes; Arthur Thiede, Cindy Teipner - Whether you are contemplating building and furnishing a log home or just wish to escape for a journey of log cabins and homes around the United States, this book is an excellent resource! Filled with beautiful color photos, it encompasses both single and two-story homes. Great use of brick and stone also featured! Enjoy!
American Victorian Costume in Early Photographs; Priscilla Harris Dalrymple - The photos are grouped by decade and show men, women and children of all ages and social classes. The editor's notes are conveniently placed near the photos and contain clear and interesting details about the costumes. Together the notes and the photos provide a useful resource and fun browse for all those interested in Victorian costume and manners.
The American Vignola: A Guide to the Making of Classical Architecture; William R. Ware - This textbook on classical architecture contains tables of the Tuscan, Ionic, Doric, Corinthian, and Composite Orders, drawings of great monuments of various periods, and guides for drawing and establishing geometrical relations, with detailed instructions for designing classical arches, domes, windows, walls, and staircases.
America's Painted Ladies: The Ultimate Celebration of Our Victorians; Elizabeth Pomada, Michael Larsen - Now, the long-awaited companion to Painted Ladies, Daughters of Painted Ladies, and Painted Ladies Revisited is available in paperback. Presents a dazzling orgy of Victoriana inside and out with more than 400 color photographs of Painted Ladies across the country.
Antebellum Architecture of Kentucky; Clay Lancaster
Antique Childrens Fashions: 1880-1900; Hazel Ulseth
The Architecture of Country Homes; Andrew J. Downing - This 1850 edition, an influential architectural book of its time, incorporates styles, furnishings, construction plans, and illustrations of the Early and Middle Victorian Gothic period.
Ask Dougless: 101 Questions and Answers on Period Authenticity and Minituria, Vol I; Dougless Bitler
Ask Dougless: Questions and Answers on Period Authenticity and Miniaturia, Vol II; Dougless Bitler
Badger's Illustrated Catalog of Cast-Iron Architecture; Daniel Badger
The Book of Miniature Furniture and Accessories; Helen Ruthberg
Castle; David MacAulay; - - "What David Macaulay can draw--churches, cities, pyramids--he does better than any pen-and-ink illustrator in the world. Castle once again goes through a brick-by-brick assembly, employing cross-hatches and thin black lines to evoke a medieval place and period."--Time. A Caldecott Honor Book. Card catalog description: Text and detailed drawings follow the planning and construction of a "typical" castle and adjoining town in thirteenth-century Wales.
Castles: Their Construction and History; Sidney Toy - Over 200 photographs, maps, and diagrams of more than 120 most famous castles of Europe and the Middle East with the history of castles as forts.
Classic Modern Homes of the Thirties: 64 Designs; William T. Comstock
Contemporary Miniature Room Settings; Helen Ruthberg
Cottage Architecture of Victorian America; E.C. Hussey - This book shows floor plans,front and side views of the house, and details regarding the various designs used on doors and windows. It also tells exactly how to build one of these marvelous "cottages," even referring to things past, such as cisterns, and pumps in the kitchen.
Country Houses and Seaside Cottages of the Victorian Era; William T. Comstock
Daughters of the Painted Ladies: America's Resplendent Victorians; Elizabeth Pomada, Michael Larsen
David Gentleman's Italy; David Gentleman
David Gentleman's Paris; David Gentleman
Dutch Houses in the Hudson Valley Before 1776; Helen Wilkinson Reynolds
Georgian House Style: An Architectural and Interior Design Sourcebook; Ingrid Cranfield
Gothic Style: Architectural and Interiors from 18th Century to the Present; Kathleen Mahoney - an impressively illustrated survey of the Gothic style that starts with examples from the English landscape garden and ends with the "transformation" of Gothic in the U.S. since the Civil War.
Historic Costume in Pictures; Braun and Schneider - Comprhensive text on clothing, the influences and evolution of style. Covers historical fads and fancies. A 'must have' basic reference for the amatuer historic costumer.
Historic Houses of the Hudson Valley; Harold Donaldson Eberlein and Cortlandt Van Dyke Hubbard
The House Beautiful: An Unabridged Reprint of the Classic Victorian Stylebook; Clarence Cook
Houses of Bark: Tipi, Wigwam, and Longhouse; Bonnie Shemie - Describes the materials, construction, and uses of different kinds of shelters made by various Woodland Indians tribes in northeastern Canada and the United States
Illustrated Dictionary of Historic Architecture; Cyril Harris - Over 5,000 historic terms aid in identifying, understanding, and creating accurate architectural detail.
The Indian Tipi: It's History, Construction, and Use; Reginald Laubin, Gladys Laubin, Stanley Vestal- The Indian Tipi includes detailed instructions for building a tipi, setting it up, and alot of other info, such as recipes, crafts, decorating your lodge, and more.
The Log Home Book; Cindy Teipner-Thieder, Arthur Thieder
Medieval Costume in England and France: The 13th, 14th, and 15th Centuries; Mary G. Houston - Describes the style and construction of royal raiment, ecclesiastical vestments, academic and legal robes, and civilian dress for all classes. Also discusses related subjects such as jewelry, textiles, armor, and hairdressing. Over 350 black-and- white line drawings of complete costumes, decoration, and patterns are taken from contemporary illustration and sculpture.
Medieval Times (If You Were There); Antony Mason, Richard Berridge - A look at life in the Middle Ages, with information about castles, knights, cathedrals, feudalism, food, and much more. Each spread--with headlines such as ``Military Might,'' ``An Ordered World,'' and ``Village Life''--contains information on the main topic and several related topics, e.g., discussion of defense includes commentary about building materials and architectural features of the times. Five or six full-color illustrations accompany each discussion; with a varied and attractive layout full of reproductions and other sources of visual information, this is an extremely vivid, useful volume for making the period accessible.
Miniature Room Settings; Helen Ruthberg
Mott's Illustrated Catalog of Victorian Plumbing Fixtures for Bathrooms and Kitchens; J.L. Mott Iron Works - This reprint of the original period catalog offers a bird's eye view of Victorian plumbing fixtures.
Nantucket in the Nineteenth Century: 180 Photographs and Illustrations; Clay Lancaster
New York Interiors at the Turn of the Century; Clay Lancaster - Interior views of fully furnished homes, business, and other public places between 1893 and 1916 through 80 photographs.
Old Brooklyn Heights: New York's First Suburb; Clay Lancaster
The Opulent Interiors of the Gilded Age: All 203 Photographs From "Artistic Houses"; Arnold Lewis, James Turner, and Steven McQuillan - Rare photographs illustrate details of interior design and architecture of the homes of some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in America during this age.
Out on the Porch; Clifton Dowells, Reynolds Price
The Painted Ladies Revisited; San Francisco's Resplendent Victorians Inside and Out; Elizabeth Pomada - Now, eleven years after the original Painted Ladies these authors feel it is the perfect time to take their thousands of readers back to San Francisco and give them a house tour of another marvelous collection of proud Victorians--inside and out. Illustrated.
The Railroad Station: An Architectural History; Carroll Meeks - Reprint of the Yale University Press edition of 1956 (History of Art Series, no.11) which asserts that these edifices defined 19th c. American architectural taste.
Rustic Garden Funiture; Ralph Kylloe
Rustic Traditions; Ralph Kylloe - Lavishly illustrated with color photos, showcases furniture made from bent twigs, tree roots, antlers, or other materials in a style that has a long tradition and has returned to vogue in recent years. The author is an avid connoisseur and collector, and he supplements the photos with background and description.
Sloan's Victorian Building: Illustrations and Floor Plans for 60 Residences and Other Structures - Reprint of the 1852-3 Edition Published in Two Volumes; Samuel Sloan - Photographs, floor plans, and elevations of 60 cottages, villas, and churches.
Spanish-Colonial Architecture in the United States; Rexford Newcomb
Turn-of-the-Century Doors, Windows, Decorative Millwork: The Mulliner Catalog of 1893
Turn-Of-The-Century Houses, Cottages, and Villas; Robert W. Shoppel - Compiled from the original floor plans and illustrations of 120 homes.
Victorian Brick and Terra Cotta Architecture; Pierre Chabut
Victorian City and Country Houses: Plans and Designs; George E. Woodward
Victorian Cottage Residences; Andrew J. Downing - This is a source for popular styles of the Victorian period and includes 26 cottage designs and 155 illustrations.
Victorian Domestic Architectural Plans and Details: 734 Scale Drawings of Doorways, Windows, Staircases, Moldings, Cornices, and Other Elements; William T. Comstock - This book, originally published in 1881, contains floorplans and elevations of several dozen Victorian houses. Some plans are possibly suitable for actual construction. As the accurate title implies there are many drawings of architectural details. All plans are drawn to scale, but have been reduced by 12%. This book is a must-have for fans of Victorian architecture or home builders that are looking for Victorian-style ideas.
Victorian Dream Homes - This collection, and others by Home Planners, offers some beautifully modernized versions of Queen Anne, Romanesque, Gothic and Folk Victorian homes.
Victorian and Edwardian Decor: From the Gothic Revival to Art Nouveau; Jeremy Cooper
Victorian and Edwardian Fashion: A Photographic Survey; Alison Gernsheim
Victorian Exterior Decorations: How to Paint Your Nineteenth Century American Home Historically; Roger W. Moss, Gail Caskey Winkler - Many people who own authentic Victorian houses are at a loss as to what color their home should be painted or even what the original colors were. This resource directs readers step-by-step on how to select and apply historically accurate paint colors that will enhance the beauty and value of their homes. Full-color paintings and photographs.
Victorian Furniture; Kathryn McNerney
Victorian Furniture: Our American Heritage, Book II; Kathryn McNerney
The Victorian House Book; Robin Guild - A guide to the architecture, interiors, and often whimsical details of Victorian homes. Historical information is combined with design ideas and advice on how to decorate, renovate, and maintain a vintage home. But the pictures are the important thing--400 illustrations, 300 in color.
The Victorian House Catalog; Peter Howell - Reprinted from the Victorian catalogs of Young & Marten, 19th century builders' merchants of London, presents a treasury of illustrations of some 1,500 fixtures, fittings, and original patterns for doorknobs, fireplace mantels and grates, tile panels, floor designs, baths, gates, and other architectural and decorator fittings. Fascinating, and useful for remodelers or buffs.
Victorian House Designs in Authentic Full Color: 75 Plates from the 'Scientific American Architects and Builders Edition,' 1885-1894; Blanche Cirker (Editor) - This book offers good illustrations, as well as floor plans for most of the houses pictured. Because the drawings are clear, they give a good idea of how some of the building was done, so it's possible to replicate them. The book is not technical, so it's entertaining for the average person to look at. The pictures are charming and enjoyable to browse through. The houses pictured are real, working houses that were built years ago. Through the floor plans, you also get an idea of the Victorian lifestyle.
Victorian House Style: An Architectural and Interior Design Sourcebook; Linda Osband - This work focuses mainly on the details associated with the victorian period in England. Linda Osband uses an even mix of beautiful photographs and detailed sketches to illustrate the many design elements of the period.
Victorian Interior Design: American Interior, 1830-1900; Roger W. Moss, Gail C. Winkler - Here is an authoritative look at the way American Victorian houses were decorated in the 19th century, covering all aspects of interior design: floor coverings, woodwork, window treatments and draperies, walls and wallpaper, and ceilings. 225 pictures and drawings; 16-page color insert.
Victorian Woodturnings and Woodwork: The 1893 Blumer & Kuhn Catalog of Premium Millwork - For anyone with an interest in Victorian-era homes, whether for restoration, new construction, design adaptation, or historic significance, this 1893 Blumer & Kuhn Catalog reprint is an invaluable resource. Reproduced from a rare original, the catalog provides almost 800 detailed illustrations covering superior quality stairs, stair railings and brackets, balusters, newel posts, mantels, rosettes, plinth and head blocks, turned porch and veranda work, gables, window hoods, ventilators, pews and pulpits, wooden ornaments, moldings and interior finishIand more. Particularly important is the fact that many of the designs illustrated go well beyond the conventional examples of woodturning and woodwork associated with the period. It is these varied and unusual examples that make this collection so valuable. 144 pages. 7" x 10". 130 plates.
Vintage Denim; David Little, Larry Bond
Vintage Hats and Bonnets: 1770-1970; Susan Langley - Arranged by decades, each section begins with an historical and fashion overview followed by a description of the hat trends for the period. The Ms. Langley presents a truly comprehensive array of fashion plates, great old photos of women wearing hats, and hundreds of excellent photographs of hats from each period. Not just hats, but all fashion trends are depicted and described.
What People Wore: 1,800 Illiustrations From Ancient Times to the Early 20th Century; Douglas Gorsline - Almost two thousand black and white illustrations outline the changing world of people's clothing from ancient times to the early 20th century. This is a fine survey of clothing styles and history, packed with plate after plate of style examples for both men and women.
19th Century Clothing (Historic Communities); David Schimpky - Slick and attractive, two titles provide an intriguing look at what people wore -- and why. Focusing on American fashion, style, and fabrics, each book describes how clothing was made and offers a wealth of information on accessories, hairstyles, and related topics, such as bathing. Various economic classes are discussed. Profusely illustrated with color drawings, diagrams, photographs of models wearing the clothes, and old advertisements.
200 Farmhouse and Country Home Plans: Classic and Modern - North America's most popular housing style is explored in depth in this celebration of country architecture. Finely detailed floor plans and exterior drawings demonstrate the great variety in Farmhouse design, which includes Southern, Plantation, Historic, Victorian-Influenced, Colonial and other styles. Complete construction blueprints available for each design. 2-color throughout.
