Customer Reviews

Architecture and Town Planning in Colonial North America (3 Vol. Set)

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Wow. Where do I start?

If you are an art or architectural historian, and you consider yourself a member of the so-called "colonial mafia" (you know who you are), this work is indispensable. Its swath of interest includes all colonial settlements in North America (excluding Mexico) - Spanish, French, British, Russian, Dutch, Swedish, German, and African. The quality of research is world class. The text is rich with detail, but not so esoteric as to put off a serious general reader. Spread over three beautifully bound volumes, these books present the architectural history of colonial settlements in North America as both an extension of the home country in a pure, rustic form that evolved and refined over time as the colonial elite used architectural expression to distinguish itself, but also as those cultures assimilated new forms appropriate to the physical conditions of the "New World." The results were something new. It's an awesome presentation both in width and depth of study, and it appreciates architecture as a culturally central art form.

Sure, there are some small holes, as another reviewer has noted, but the magnificent scope of this project makes it impossible for the author to cover every possible town, city, style and period. And while there's a nice chunk for British North America (as is expected), don't think the author made his studies of the other colonial societies filler or framing material for the English. In fact, one of the best things about these books is that they treat the colonial experiments of many other European countries with fine detail and profound insight. The author does go out on a limb sometimes with an opinion or two that can leave you scratching your head. For example, his post-dating Middleburg Plantation in South Carolina from 1699 to the "late 18th century" comes across as a bit of a hunch rather than being supported by solid evidence. Examples such as this are rare.

Another nice feature is that Kornwolf finds value in structures that other scholars and various landmark societies have largely ignored. This is particularly true in his treatment of Virginia. There's more there than Wilson and Loth have told you about.

This is no casual book for placing on your living room furniture, but an important and canonical work in its genre that deserves reserved space in your library. It's worth every cent.

I should note that these books are not an architectural catalog, per se. Don't expect AIA-style building entries. The entire work is narrative, supported by a huge collection of 3,000 monochrome illustrations, most from other sources, including photographs, plans, maps and other graphics. The entire book considers perhaps 2,000 structures in the United States and Canada.

Another point to remember, particularly for plantation lovers: While not neglecting important rural sites, these books are about the urban development of the continent, and focus heavily on town architecture. The discussion is not limited to domestic architecture either, but includes comprehensive studies of important public buildings.

First of all, the price on this set of books was incredibly affordable. The three volumes are very well presented and the information inside is understandable to those who love architecture. Drawings of the layout of the buildings are simple and correspond to pictures of the structure being discussed. The books are organized byarchitectural eras.

I had great expectations for this work in as much as a three volume publication is a very ambitious project that would innitially indicate a lot of intense research and knowledge of the subject. This may be the case as it pertains to certain cities, but Dr. Kornworth would have been better off to leave other towns out of the discussion on purpose rather to write incorrectly with misleading conclusions supported by misleading data/pictures that will have to be corrected. Such is the case as it concerns Pensacola, Florida, pages 98-101. The inadequate research and writing, along with the misleading conclusions, unfortunately made we question his overall research methods and analytical capabilities as it pertained to the rest of the volumes. Dr. Kornworth should have done better homework or at least had a knowledgeble historian review his brief chapter as to its accuracy. It is unfortunate for 5 paragraphs to taint a 3-volume work, but sloppy research can never be excused especially under the auspices of the John Hopkins University Press.