Authentic Color Schemes for Victorian Houses: Comstock's Modern House Painting, 1883 (Dover Architecture) [Paperback]

E. K. Rossiter (Author), F. A. Wright (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dover Architecture | Publication Date: July 3, 2001

This rare book invited homeowners of the Victorian era to eschew "white houses with green blinds" and join in the revolutionary trend towards colorful houses. They explain clearly how to mix primary and secondary colors to achieve such popular, mellow tones of the period as olive, russet, citrine, buff, plum, and sage. 20 color plates.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (July 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486417743
• ISBN-13: 978-0486417745
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 11 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #726,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars How to mix colors, March 7, 2007

By 

Tina from Ohio (Westerville, oh United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Authentic Color Schemes for Victorian Houses: Comstock's Modern House Painting, 1883 (Dover Architecture) (Paperback)

To quote the book, "Those of our readers who expect to find lists comprising all the various scales of color, giving definite information as to what particular color should be used to harmonize with this or that shade, and telling just what combinations are allowable, and just what are to be condemned, will, therefore, be disappointed." This book covers how to prime wood and mix colors (reddish brown color is achieved by mixing Indian red and burnt umber) and does give specific color schemes. This is a reprint from 1883, and the authors mentioned that the printer could not replicate most of the color schemes they envisioned (maybe I need to get watercolor paint and mix the suggested colors to see what they intended). We are building a Victorian home, and I was looking for ideas of what worked well in the past, but the rust red, dark mustard yellow, greens and browns they showed did not inspire me as I had hoped. It does have helpful information about color selection, but it is fairly generic in nature. Most of the plates are house exteriors, but there are a few interior plates as well.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Simpla & Basic, February 21, 2006

By 

Hmack1 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Authentic Color Schemes for Victorian Houses: Comstock's Modern House Painting, 1883 (Dover Architecture) (Paperback)

Good for someone with a need for very basic color scheme for historic homes. No imagination needed. Colors are boring by our modern day standards, but give the old world look desired in the older victorian neighborhoods that despise the brighter californian look.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Limited color schemes, April 5, 2010

By 

A. Prester - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Authentic Color Schemes for Victorian Houses: Comstock's Modern House Painting, 1883 (Dover Architecture) (Paperback)

I was looking for color palettes for Victorian houses. This was VERY limited to only a few house elevations and SLIGHT variations on the color schemes. I haven't read through the text but for what I was looking for, it wasn't worth it.