Victorian House Designs in Authentic Full Color: 75 Plates from the "Scientific American -- Architects and Builders Edition," 1885-1894 (Paperback)

by Blanche Cirker (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Exquisitely detailed, exceptionally handsome designs for an enormous variety of attractive city dwellings, spacious suburban and country homes, charming "cottages" and other structures—all accompanied by perspective views and floor plans (with measurements). Invaluable to architects, home restorers and preservationists; of immense interest to lovers of Victorian architecture.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (January 16, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486294382
• ISBN-13: 978-0486294384
• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 9.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #467,339 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, yet Informative, August 13, 1997

By A Customer

We ordered this book to give us ideas for building our own house in the grand old Victorian style. There are not instructions in this book, but it 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. We found it very helpful. 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. It really is a wonderful book to add to your library. It is a soft cover book

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Fantastic, April 4, 1998

By A Customer

If you are looking for explicit instructions on how to build a Victorian House this may not be the book for you, BUT, if you LOVE Victorian houses as much as I do, this is definitely the book for you!

This wonderful book features page after page, in FULL COLOR excellent, detailed drawings of these marvelous, period residences! And includes the floor plan of the houses.

Frankly I found the book a pure delight! Many of the houses are featured in a natural setting with a lawn and trees,

I would have preferred people not to be featured in the pictures, but that is just a personal preference..

The small figures are well done and are dressed in period clothing.

I greatly enjoyed this book. It is the kind of picture book that I will be looking at over and over.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A colorful celebration of Victorian homes, May 23, 2001

By	Michael J. Mazza (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

"Victorian House Designs in Authentic Full Color," edited by Blanche Cirker, is a visually delightful tribute to a memorable era in home architecture. This volume reprints plates from "Scientific American--Architects and Builders Edition," originally appearing from 1885 to 1894.

The book contains floor plans and elevations of both stand-alone houses and connected homes. If you love the fanciful vocabulary of Victorian architecture, you will find all of your favorite features on display here: eyebrow dormers, circular towers, covered piazzas, cantilevered balconies, complex roof lines, clustered fireplaces, Palladian windows, and much, much more.

The only drawback to the book is that some house elevations are not accompanied by floor plans; a few others are only accompanied by the plan of a single floor. But overall, this is a richly detailed celebration of some truly beautiful homes. If you are a student of Victorian home architecture, this book is a must-have.