Building with Nature - The Arts & Crafts Home

·         Title:  Building with Nature – Inspiration for the Arts & Crafts Home

·         Author:  Leslie M. Freudenheim

·         Edition: Hardcover.  First Edition.

·         Publisher:  Gibbs Smith

·         Copyright: 2005

·         Printing: 2005

·         Dimensions in inches:   11.25 x 8.75 x 1.0  (229 pages)

·         ISBN:  1-58685-463-1

The Arts & Crafts movement was an extraordinary step in the evolution of American architecture, culture, society and values.  Building with Nature delves into the international and California inspiration behind the America Arts & Crafts expression in architecture.  Fascinating and amusing material from previously unpublished letters and documents, as well as some never-before-published photographs, support this bold and completely revised edition of the classic work in its field.

The book focuses on the largely unknown yet exceedingly charismatic Swedenborgian minister Reverend Joseph Worcester, a serious student of architecture, and the quiet revolution he created as he turned Californians, and eventually Americans, toward the Arts & Crafts movement.  He and his friends launched the first Arts & Crafts society in the United States (founded in San Francisco in 1894).  They encouraged less materialism through architecture that complemented a simpler life in tune with nature, helping to launch the Craftsman movement across America.

Worcester drew inspiration from many colorful personalities, among them John Muir, Frederick Law Olmsted, Charles F. Lummis, and Daniel H. Burnham; soon the original “simple home” he developed became the California Shingle Style and eventually inspired many other architects, including Bernard Maybeck, Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene, and Julia Morgan.  These proponents of the Arts & Crafts movement admired the work of H.H. Richardson and Bruce Price, as well as Charles Follen McKim’s revival of vernacular colonial architecture on the East Coast, and they drew ideas from California’s vernacular structures such as the missions, pueblos, barns, and Yosemite’s cabins.

The story also has international significance, as this band of Arts & Crafts advocates found inspiration in Europe, where they culled design ideas from John Ruskin, William Morris, Phillip Webb, R. Norman Shaw, C.F.A. Voysey, Edwin Lutyens, Arthur H. Mackmurdo, and M.H. Baillie Scott, as well as from late-medieval buildings and vernacular architecture. 

Contents:

-          A Tribute and an Explanation

-          Setting the Scene

-          Ruskin, Morris, and the First California Arts & Crafts House

-          Russian Hill:  An Early Arts & Crafts Neighborhood

-          The Swedenborgian Church and the First Mission Style Chair

-          The First American Arts & Crafts Society, San Francisco, 1894

-          “A Cottage All of Our Own”:  Polk and Coxhead

-          Hillside Architecture:  Maybeck and Keeler

-          Early Environmentalists, Yosemite, and a Garden Suburb

-          John Galen Howard and “His Wizard” Continue Two Arts & Crafts Traditions

-          The California Shingle Style

-          Arts & Crafts Expansion:  Mission, Pueblo, and Mediterranean Styles

-          Conclusion and Speculations:  The Golden State Inspires America

CONDITION:  NEW

Hardcover edition with dust-jacket in FINE condition, with strong binding, bright boards, and sharp corners. All pages are free from any writings, markings, tears, or pastedowns. Text block and pages are tight and clean, with no soiling, creasing, dog-ears or markings.

POLICY & GUARANTEE:

·         FULL SATISFACTION GUARANTEED OR YOUR MONEY BACK.  Please contact us with any questions, comments or concerns prior to bidding. All items sold as described, and returnable for any reason within 14 days of receipt.

·         Payments: Payment in full must be received within 10 days of auction close. We accept all major credit cards through PayPal. If payment is not made within the specified period, we reserve the right to re-list item and to submit feedback with non-paying bidder notification.

·         Shipping & Handling: Items are shipped within 1 business day after payment has cleared. Stated rates are for confirmed delivery through the United States Postal Service via Media Mail (“Book Rate” class.) Insurance is added for items valued over $100.00. International and Overnight shipping available at additional cost; Please contact us prior to bidding for adjusted rates or with special requests. We recommend international buyers check with their country's customs office prior to bidding/buying with questions on import duties or tax charges.   

·         Book condition guidelines: Fine (F), No defects, or wear, or previous owner markings; Tight binding and the boards are without bumps or wear (Synonymous for “very fine”, “as new”, or “mint”.)   Near Fine (NF), Light shelf-wear, light rubbing or tanning to dust jacket, or previous owner markings.  Very Good (VG), Small signs of wear on either binding or paper, but no tears.  Good (G), Average used worn condition with all pages or leaves present. Fair, Worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title, as noted; Loose binding, dust jacket (if present) may also be worn. Any defects are noted.

 Check out my other items! Be sure to add me to your favorites list!