Great Houses of New York, 1880-1930 (Urban Domestic Architecture) [Hardcover]

Michael C. Kathrens (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 30, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0926494341 | ISBN-13: 978-0926494343 | Edition: First Edition

GREAT HOUSES OF NEW YORK, 1880-1930 presents the stories of 43 most elegant houses built in New York. With over 300 archival photographs and floor plans and a decade of research, Michael Kathrens profiles New York houses known only for their magisterial presence on the city s most elegant boulevards, some of which still exist today. IN the book the lavish rooms are brought to life again polished black and white columns reflect in the marble floor of a grand entryway, Dutch master paintings line damask walls in the second floor reception room, a crystal chandelier softly lights a dining rooms whose boiserie glows with paintings by Boucher evoking the elegant private life that has become a trademark of the wealthy New Yorker.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Thoroughly delightful, beautifully illustrated survey of the opulent private palaces built in Manhattan is absorbing. --Jared Paul Stern, The New York Post

"The American plutocrat may not have had a polish of the centuries old European aristocrat, but he did learn to live in equal splendor --Quest

Mr. Kathrens trump cards are the period photographs he has found that reveal the true splendour of both exteriors and interiors . --Appolo

From the Publisher

In 1869, when Edith Wharton's aunt Mary Mason Jones (immortalized as Mrs. Manson Mingot in "The Age of Innocence") finished her French classical house at the corner of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue - in a block for which her father paid $1500 forty years earlier - she was considered an adventuress for building so far uptown. By 1882, just down the avenue at 52nd Street, William K. Vanderbilt finished his limestone mansion, ushering in the era of the lavish New York Great House, modeled after the London houses of English aristocrats and their Parisian counterparts. "Great Houses of New York, 1880-1930" presents the stories of the most elegant houses built in New York. Michael Kathrens profiles New York houses known only for their magisterial presence on the city's most elegant boulevards, some of which still exist today, including the houses of Otto Kahn (Convent of the Sacred Heart), Andrew Carnegie (Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum), James B. Duke (NYU Institute of Fine Art), Morton F. Plant (Cartier), and William Starr Miller (Neue Gallery).

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 383 pages
• Publisher: Acanthus Press; First Edition edition (April 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0926494341
• ISBN-13: 978-0926494343
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 1.3 x 12 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #543,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gilded Age New York July 15, 2005

By Shannon Deason

Format:Hardcover

I have been waiting for a book like this for some time, and this one does not disappoint. It is well researched with wonderful historic black and white photos. The book is of the finest quality and the text is well put together. This is such an interesting subject and the authors are very thorough in their research, the book really feels complete. I highly recommend it to anyone with any interest in wonderful Gilded Age residental architecture or just an interest in the rich history of this great city. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed in this book and I commend the authors on doing such a fine job on a most worthy subject. Thank you.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Acanthus Press second place prize winner October 31, 2009

By Peter T. Wolf

Format:Hardcover

I own a number of the Acanthus Press series, as well as numerous other books on great estates and mansions, some more than 100 years old. So I'm a tough critic. I agree with the other reviewers that this is a very good volume and in my opinion second only to the House of Los Angeles ( two volumes) set. The author has published many of the period photos in full page format. But what I would have liked in this book was more homes. There are a number of well photographed equally grand and important mansions that are missing. The jaw dropping Yerkes mansion for one was extensively photographed at the time. I am pleased however that the author did include the wonderfully gaudy Clark mansion, heretofore overlooked in other books on this subject.
This volume definitely should be part of your collection.
4.5 stars.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Architectural Joy August 16, 2007

By Ms. Elinor Vickers

Format:Hardcover

A fascinating book, covering the now mostly demolished great homes of New York, during the extraordinary flowering of wealth and enterprise in the late C19th.
All the famous families appear together with Edith Wharton style stories of scandal and excess...
The book boasts beautiful photographs, attractively reproduced, and fascinating floor plans.
Great Houses is exceptionally well written and a joy to the eye. One for architecture enthusiasts everywhere!