Winner of the 2001 Historic Preservation Prize Sponsored by the Center for Historic Preservation, Mary Washington College

“Daniel Reiff’s Houses from Books is a sweeping, intriguing compilation. It makes all those ‘other’ builodings around us understandable. It’s a useful text for students, scholars, and professionals in fields ranging from American studies to architecture and architectural histoy, from local and regional history to historic preservation. It shouold be on the reference shelf of everly library in the United States.” —Michael A. Tomlan, Cornell University

“A handsome, fully illustrated quarto volume, Houses from Books is a thorough and thoughtful treatment of house building in America from 1820 to 1950s... Combined with Reiff’s extensive and intensive fieldwork, Houses from Books makes a major contribution to our understanding of the built environment.” —Fred W. Peterson, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians

“While others have sketched the outlines of this history, Reiff’s significant contribution is to show though daunting field research and meticulous library work how richly detailed and widely built these designs actually are.” —Gordon Bock, Old-House Journal

“Reiff's book, Houses from Books, is an excellent resource for people studying pattern books houses. The multitude of examples included along with the vast number of illustrations make the book a valuable source for someone with an interest in the topic. The appendices included also provide many other sources of information for those with an interest in pattern books and their influence on architecture. In addition, the case study does a very good job of illustrating just how influential pattern books were on architecture in the average American town, and will hopefully spur others on to examining the architecture in their own backyards.” —Ralph Wilcox, Vernacular Architecture Newsletter

Many homes across America have designs based on plans taken from pattern books or mail-order catalogs. In Houses from Books, Daniel D. Reiff traces the history of published plans and offers the first comprehensive survey of their influence on the structure and the style of American houses from 1738 to 1950.

Houses from Books shows that architectural publications, from Palladio’s I Quattro Libri to Aladdin's Readi-Cut Homes, played a decisive role in every aspect of American domestic building. Reiff discusses the people and the firms who produced the books as well as the ways in which builders and architects adapted the designs in communities throughout the country. His book also offers a wide-ranging analysis of the economic and social conditions shaping American building practices.

As architectural publication developed and grew more sophisticated, it played an increasingly prominent part in the design and the construction of domestic buildings. In villages and small towns, which often did not have professional architects, the publications became basic resources for carpenters and builders at all levels of expertise. Through the use of published designs, they were able to choose among a variety of plans, styles, and individual motifs and engage in a fruitful dialogue with past and present architects. Houses from Books reconstructs this dialogue by examining the links between the published designs and the houses themselves.

Reiff’s book will be indispensable to architectural historians, architects, preservationists, and regional historians. Realtors and homeowners will also find it of great interest. A catalog at the end of the book can function as a guide for those attempting to locate a model and a date for a particular design. Houses from Books contains a wealth of photographs, many by the author, that enhance its importance as a history and guide.