The Decoration of Houses - Dover Architecture Facsimile edition

Marc Notes: Includes index.; One of interior design's most important and influential titles. Created in 1897 by a distinguished author and an accomplished architect whose common sense and practicality remain forever in style. Brief Description: "This Dover edition, first published by Dover Publications, Inc., in 2015, is an unabridged republication of the work originally published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, in 1914."Biographical Note: Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, and designer. Nominated three times for the Nobel Prize in Literature, she received the Pulitzer Prize for "The Age of Innocence" in 1921. Wharton drew upon her privileged social position to create witty and psychologically insightful novels and short stories. Ogden Codman, Jr. (1863-1951) was a noted American architect and interior decorator in the Beaux-Arts tradition. His many famous designs include Wharton's residences Land's End and The Mount as well as her Park Avenue townhouse; the Vanderbilts' Newport home, The Breakers; and the Codman-Davis House in Washington, D. C. Jacket Description/Back: Thousands of books on interior design have come and gone since the 1897 publication of this pioneering manual, but "The Decoration of Houses" remains, thanks to the insightful and inspiring advice of its co-authors. Before she became the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Age of Innocence, "Edith Wharton was a society matron, remodeling a summer home in Newport, Rhode Island. With the able assistance of architect Ogden Codman, Jr., Wharton assembled this corrective to the rampant vulgarity of her nouveau riche neighbors. Wharton and Codman defied the excesses of the Gilded Age, counseling readers to reject the popular penchant for clutter in favor of simplicity and balance. More than an engaging item of period charm, this historic guide offers examples of design rooted in architectural principles. Black-and-white photographs illustrate the authors' ideals of classic beauty, depicting grand ballrooms and spacious boudoirs as well as the elements common to homes of every size and era: doors and windows, walls and ceilings, floors, halls, and stairs. One of the genre's most important and influential titles, this volume sparked a Renaissance in American interior design, and its sound advice and practical approach remain forever in style. Dover (2015) republication of the edition originally published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1914. See every Dover book in print atwww.doverpublications.comPublisher Marketing: Thousands of books on interior design have come and gone since the 1897 publication of this pioneering manual, but "The Decoration of Houses" remains, thanks to the insightful and inspiring advice of its co-authors. Before she became the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Age of Innocence, "Edith Wharton was a society matron, remodeling a summer home in Newport, Rhode Island. With the able assistance of architect Ogden Codman, Jr., Wharton assembled this corrective to the rampant vulgarity of her nouveau riche neighbors. Wharton and Codman defied the excesses of the Gilded Age, counseling readers to reject the popular penchant for clutter in favor of simplicity and balance. More than an engaging item of period charm, this historic guide offers examples of design rooted in architectural principles. Black-and-white photographs illustrate the authors' ideals of classic beauty, depicting grand ballrooms and spacious boudoirs as well as the elements common to homes of every size and era: doors and windows, walls and ceilings, floors, halls, and stairs. One of the genre's most important and influential titles, this volume sparked a Renaissance in American interior design, and its sound advice and practical approach remain forever in style. Contributor Bio:  Wharton, Edith Edith Wharton was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, known for such classics as The House of Mirth, Ethan Frome, and The Age of Innocence, for which she won the Pulitzer Prize in 1921. A member of the New York elite, Wharton drew on her experiences as part of society to critique its inner workings and the conflict between personal desires and societal norms. Wharton died in 1937, leaving behind a rich literary legacy.