Winker & Moss (LCA Associates)

Useful Books on Historic Interiors for the North American Old House Owner, Curator, Preservationist, Architect, and Designer

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These books relate to the history and use of Wallpaper, Curtains and Draping, Floor Coverings, Lighting Fixtures, and other domestic technology (Heating, Plumbing, and Kitchens)--primarily for the period from the late eighteenth through the early twentieth centuries. A separate section indicates those books that you may want to own as part of your core reference collection.

These specialized lists are excerpted from much longer bibliographies that Gail Winkler and Roger Moss developed for use in their classes in the preservation program at the University of Pennsylvania. Some of the older books--those published in the nineteenth century, for example--were written to guide home owners in the decoration and furnishing of their houses; today they can be equally useful to curators or the modern owners of structures from the approximate date of original publication. These "guide books" may not be readily available in the antiquarian book market and must usually be consulted at a special collections rare book library. However, copies of books by Loudon, Webster and Parks, Downing, Beecher and Stowe, Church, Eastlake, Vaux, Wheeler, and others--especially if they are not first editions in "collector" condition--may be available for purchase.

Until recently, locating out of print or rare books on nineteenth-century decoration and technology could be frustrating and time consuming. Today it is possible to sift through the stock of booksellers from around the globe. By clicking on the links to Amazon or AbeBooks provided on the details page for many of the books, you can determine if copies are currently available. Often you will be offered multiple copies at a range of prices, in useable condition, and at surprisingly reasonable prices. Be sure to check both search engines, especially if the book you are seeking was published more than twenty years ago. Happy hunting!

 

 

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