A pattern book, or architectural pattern book, is a book of architectural designs, usually providing enough for non-architects to build structures that are copies or significant derivatives of major architect-designed works. A number of pattern books have been very influential in spreading architectural styles. An early author of pattern books was American architect

Minard Lafever Minard Lafever (1798–1854) was an American architect of churches and houses in the United States in the early nineteenth century. Life and career Lafever began life as a carpenter around 1820. At this period in the United States there were no ...

. In 1829 he published ''The Young Builders' General Instructor'', followed by ''Modern Builders' Guide'' in 1833, ''The Beauties of Modern Architecture'' in 1835 and ''The Architectural Instructor'' in 1850. His pattern books were influential in spreading his

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style, which is known as the first major non-British high architectural style in the United States. The style was popular for being not British, and for association with Greek history, ancient and modern, and was greatly facilitated by the pattern books. Orson Squire Fowler notably made a mark on American architecture when he touted the advantages of octagonal homes over rectangular and square structures in his widely publicized book, ''The Octagon House: A Home For All, or A New, Cheap, Convenient, and Superior Mode of Building'', printed in the year 1848. It is argued by some that this is incorrectly termed a pattern book, but as a result of this popular and influential publication, a few thousand octagonal houses were in fact erected in the United States. Another was Samuel Skidmore's ''Tudor Homes of England'', which introduced Tudor and Norman elements, such as

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

stained-glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows, and spiral staircases into American architecture. Palliser, Palliser & Company published nine pattern books, the first of which sold for $.25 and achieved wide distribution, during the period from 1876 to 1896. After the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Second Empire architecture Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts originating in the Second French Empire. It was characterized by elements of many different historical styles, and al ...

was considered the perfect style for many to demonstrate their wealth and express their new power in their respective communities. The style diffused by the publications of designs in pattern books and adopted the adaptability and

eclecticism Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories i ...

that

Italianate architecture The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century ...

had when interpreted by more middle-class clients. This caused more modest homes to depart from the ornamentation found in French examples in favor of simpler and more eclectic American ornamentation that had been established in the 1850s. In practice, most Second Empire houses simply followed the same patterns developed by

Alexander Jackson Davis Alexander Jackson Davis (July 24, 1803 – January 14, 1892) was an American architect known particularly for his association with the Gothic Revival style. Education Davis was born in New York City and studied at the American Academ ...

and Samuel Sloan, the symmetrical plan, the L-plan, for the Italianate style, adding a

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

to the composition. Thus, most Second Empire houses exhibited the same ornamentational and stylistic features as contemporary Italianate forms, differing only in the presence or absence of a mansard roof. Second Empire was also a frequent choice of style for remodeling older houses. Frequently, owners of Italianate, Colonial, or Federal houses chose to add a mansard roof and French ornamental features to update their homes in the latest fashions.

References

{{reflist Architecture books

See also

References