Philadelphia-based builder Owen Biddle was a major influence on later architects, thanks to this well-illustrated and much studied guide. One of the very first manuals of American architecture, this essential sourcebook offers authentic views of interior and exterior designs of buildings erected in the decades following the American Revolution. Reproduced from a rare 1805 edition, this handsome volume features 135 drawings. Its text and illustrated details depict typical building materials, styles, architectural ornamentation, and interior designs. A fascinating look at how public structures and private homes were designed, contracted, built, and embellished during the Federal period, this work is an essential reference for students, professionals, and all aficionados of architectural history.

Perhaps most interesting is the range of buildings and machines that Mills designed - from monuments and local courthouses, to prisons and churches, bridges and canals, to rotary piston engines and fireproof masonry vaults - all during a revolutionary era of building technology in America.".