An expert looks at a wide variety of country arts that characterized early New England homes.

Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

National architectural magazine now in its fifteenth year, covering period-inspired design 1700–1950. Commissioned photographs show real homes, inspired by the past but livable. Historical and interpretive rooms are included; new construction, additions, and new kitchens and baths take their place along with restoration work. A feature on furniture appears in every issue. Product coverage is extensive. Experts offer advice for homeowners and designers on finishing, decorating, and furnishing period homes of every era. A garden feature, essays, archival material, events and exhibitions, and book reviews round out the editorial. Many readers claim the beautiful advertising—all of it design-related, no “lifestyle” ads—is as important to them as the articles.

Wisteria House is a North Andover, Massachusetts landmark, named for the vigorous vine that has flourished on the veranda for more than 150 years. More properly known as the Field-Hodges House, it belonged to only two families. The last owner, Sarah Moore Field, died in 1988, leaving her home completely furnished and packed to the rafters with the accumulated belongings of three generations and hoping that it would become a historic house museum. It did not. A variety of circumstances required a more creative solution. Wisteria House: Life in a New England Home, 1839-2000 is a key element of that solution. It is a permanent record of the lives lived in a particular house in a particular town at a particular time based on the buildings, furnishings, clothing, personal effects, photographs, correspondence, and financial papers of two upper-middle class families. The text and illustrations address gender roles, childhood and education, household economy, health and medicine, work and leisure, and community history. The themes of public history, preservation, and stewardship underpin the narrative. The story of the Field-Hodges Houses lies at the intersection of well-meaning, devoted amateurs trying to save a beloved old house and professionals charged with the dispassionate consideration of the financial viability and public relevance necessary for a successful historic house museum. The book is unique in that it is the final component of a preservation project. After the building and grounds were secured, the significant collections safely in the hands of public institutions, financial obligations met, and the intent of a Last Will and Testament fulfilled, Wisteria House preserves the history itself. As an example of stewardship, the entire project occupies a notable position in the current debate over the future of historic house museums in America.