Customer Reviews

Case Study Houses (Taschen 25th Anniversary Special Editions)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A sumptuous visual record of this southern Californian house design program. Original published by Taschen in a jumbo edition. This reprint celebrates their twenty-fifth publishing anniversary and it's slightly smaller than the original book but still beautifully printed with English, German and French text.

Each of the thirty-six houses is covered in the same way with:
1 A short introduction by editor Smith
2 The relevant editorial copy from Arts & Architecture magazine about the house.
3 Photos, plans, diagrams and illustrations. Plenty of the photos are by the brilliant Jules Shulman.
4 Contemporary color photos of some houses.

Some of houses only have a spread or two (the unbuilt ones) while others have several spreads, Pierre Koenig's famous Stahl House (#22) has twenty pages. I have given book only four stars because it is not as complete as it should be, the focus is really a visual history of the Study Houses and that's it! What is missing is any historical and contemporary background and surely the reason the whole project was important was the influence it had on other architects, house builders, planners, the public and manufactures.

To get a perspective you will have to get Elizabeth Smith's earlier book Blueprints for Modern Living: History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses, published in conjunction with an exhibition in Los Angeles in 1989-1990. As the sub-title to the book says: 'History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses'. I found this a marvelous book though there are only forty-two pages of text and photos on the actual houses the rest of the 256 pages place them in the context of Californian living and mid-fifties American architecture.

*** I have done a Listmania on books about Case Study Houses.

I've had my eye on this book in the original format for a few years now, but could not part with the $$$ for it. When I saw this 25th Anniversary edition I got so excited that I had to order it right away. Ok, I know it's not the "real" version of the book, but for less than half the price who cares. To be honest with you, this smaller version of the book is so big I do not think I could handle a larger book. You definitely have to set this book down on a table to read it, otherwise it is unmanageable. As for content, wait, let me go over to my bar and make a martini. Yeah, that's better. The beautiful photography of Julius Shulman truly transforms you back to a better time! There are also floor plans, sketches, notes, and of course the text of the book. You can tell they used the original plates for this book, since the font is quite small, but definitely readable. I'm sure in the original format the text would appear normal size. In most cases though, you won't be looking at the text in this book, this is a PICTURE book, and what a picture book it is! A ring a ding ding! Oh, wait that's the martini kicking in. Once I started looking at this book, I watched a documentary on Julius Shulman, called Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman, which had many of these houses in it and so accompanies this book, it should be included with it. Since it is not though, you should order it WITH the book. For any fan of Modernism, this book is a must, I love it! This is where it starts. Now if they would only come out with a cheap version of that Arts & Architecture magazine set that started the Case Study House program....

I had been ogling the super-deluxe edition of this hefty book, and was very pleased to find that the "bargain" edition was as lovely as the deluxe edition - without needing a weight belt to lift it. (I accidentally ordered two copies and it came with a "Caution! Heavy!" label.) I am so pleased with the book as a gift for my spouse that I'm keeping the accidental second copy for a gift for another MCM fan who I know will love it.
Great illustrations - photos, sketches, diagrams - includes lots of interesting bits about the thinking behind the design. Lots of ideas too for built-ins as well as showcasing popular MCM furniture.
The only downside of this edition is that the print is a bit small - but being able to actually fit it on a bookshelf is a really nice trade off.
If you love MCM, this is a must-have for your collection.

I saw the bigger version, that is almost impossible to read in a Bookstore in Brazil; I immediately checked the availability at Amazon and found this smaller yet complete version of CSH. I strongly reccomend to those like me that are not architects but love the art!!!

I bought this as a gift for my photographer husband who loves architecture. The photos are gorgeous and there is lots to absorb. He loves it. It is a smaller edition, so the type is really, really small.

Great product for the price!!! sure the first edition collections would have been great but the cost is not affordable. this reprint is wonderful!

It IS a wonderful compendium of the work of all the great architects working in California.............I guess what upsets me is that Taschen has "re-printed" this book at a vastly lesser price than what I was forced to pay for it when it was 1st published. On one hand I AM glad that there is now a edition available to young people at a VASTLY lesser price than I paid, but, on the other hand, considering that my copy cost almost $200 it makes me think that I was "Taken to the cleaners" as the old saying goes. Not only this book, but also the Neutra book, which I bought in Paris at about $175, and threw out underwear, shirts and socks so that I could drag it back to the US. Oh well, at 66 it does not really matter anymore. My 3-4 thousand volume library of architecture, interior design, gardens and archeology will all go to schools, and they can decide what to do with all of this....keep it or sell it...it won't really matter BUT I still feel that Taschen vastly over-priced the 1st edition.