Gift local 05-25-2003 $19.95.

Brilliant photos of 1870s, 1880s, showing finest domestic, public architecture; many buildings now gone. 120 plates.

A valuable and compelling portrait of the daily life of Americans during the Victorian era--the fourth volume in the Everyday Life in America series

Reprinted from a rare 1878 offering from a leading Northeastern architectural firm: front and side elevations, floor plans and descriptions of 50 "practical designs of low and medium priced houses," ranging from 2- to 11-room dwellings, most in the cottage style. With complete specifications for two, a sample contract, advertisements, and price estimates.

The contributors cover such seminal topics as modernization, American intellectuals, the origins of the reform movement, the beginnings of the voluntary hospital, literature, and, ultimately, the attack on Victorianism that took place in the early years of the twentieth-century.

Over 280 rare photographs document "Sunday best" clothing from the 1840s to the 1890s. Bustles, pantalets, top hats, waistcoats, bowlers, other attire, as well as hairdressing and tonsorial styles.

Principal photography by Paul Rocheleau. "Knowledgeable descriptions of the houses & their interiors."--Chicago Tribune.