Monographs Archives - Page 8 of 13

Architectural Monographs: Inspiration from Northern Virginia

Posted on December 23, 2013October 21, 2021 by Jeff Easterling

Concerned that twelve years and one hundred thousand miles of touring America looking for exemplary houses had exhausted the supply, the editor and writer of the White Pine Monograph Series were surprised to find that the country has even more beautiful Colonial-era architecture than they had imagined. But some of it is hidden away, designed by no-name architects or otherwise obscured from public awareness.

“One never ceases to wonder at the quantity of good work done by the early builders of this country; the consistency with which they erected houses, churches, public buildings, that have stood the test of time and through changing conditions of living and public taste have survived to be admired and appreciated by those who study them.”

In 1931, their travels took them on the road between Washington, D.C. and Fredericksburg, Virginia. In this issue of the Monographs, they detail some of the most elegant and admirable structures they found in Northern Virginia.

“Virginia, perhaps with greater claim than any of the early Commonwealths, can be numbered among the first family of Colonies. Its history, full of romantic episodes and famous names, is written large upon the pages of Early America. The contributions of this colony to the outstanding architectural examples of the Colonial period are as numerous and significant as any of the original thirteen.”

Read the whole issue at the White Pine Monograph Library.

Architectural Monographs: Country Meeting Houses of Massachusetts & New Hampshire

Posted on December 6, 2013October 21, 2021 by S.A. Rogers

Along the border of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, in the towns of Ashby, Templeton, Fitzwillian and Westmoreland, some of the 19th century’s most beautiful wooden country meeting houses can be found. They’re beautiful examples of what can be created with wood, especially in terms of exterior detail and ornament. This issue of the historic White Pine Monographs, written in 1925, includes photos of standout structures as they could be seen in the early 20th century. The author notes that at that time, only the Templeton meeting house still stood without significant alteration.

“Built at the beginning of the last century, these simple structures are remarkable for the richness and originality of their exterior detail and ornament. They show the wooden country meeting house of a hundred or more years ago at its best. In many ways they are very similar. They are all set on high ground, fronting on village greens, with their backs to open meadow or woodland and, in two cases, a country graveyard. They can be seen from afar off and dominate, by bulk and height, each composition of town and landscape.”

Of Westmoreland, the author writes, “Here we encounter the Tuscan Doric in all its New Hampshire glory. The white woodwork, the dark green blinds, the slate roof and the red cupola make a pleasant picture at the upper end of the sloping column. We sought information from pleasant people living at the foot of the green who, giving us the key, told us to be sure to climb the tower. This we did and beheld the silvery beauty of the Connecticut Valley.”

Read more at the White Pine Monograph Library.

Architectural Monographs: Country Meeting Houses of Massachusetts & New Hampshire

Posted on December 6, 2013October 21, 2021 by Jeff Easterling

Read more at the White Pine Monograph Library.

Architectural Monographs: A Tasteful North Carolina Home

Posted on November 29, 2013October 21, 2021 by Jeff Easterling

The houses of the wealthy aren’t always the pinnacle of class and taste – that was true in 1927, when this issue of the White Pine Monographs was written, and it’s still true today. Author Kenneth Clark notes that “the merchant prince of today parades his fortunes before the world, by building a palace” that is filled not with the things that make a home, but objects to show off. In contrast, the rich men of the American Colonial period “radiate the warmth of feeling that inspired their conception and bespeak in a quiet, dignified, yet powerful voice the qualities and characteristics which went into the making of the American Nation.”

Offered up as a prime example is the Smallwood-Jones Residence of New Bern, North Carolina. Located in the eastern part of the state, this three-story brick home may not look like the mansion to modern eyes, but it was never meant to be ostentatious in the first place. A survivor of the most prosperous period in the early days of New Bern, the home features noteworthy carvings and other details created with extraordinary skill and craftsmanship.

The names of the architect and builder have been lost to time, but this monograph celebrates their work, from the sense of scale to the interior molding. Of the details in the second floor drawing room, Clark writes “All is dovetailed and dowelled together in the manner of the ancient cabinetmaker who had the time and the inclination to do things right, once, and for all time.”

Read more at the White Pine Monograph Library.

Architectural Monographs: Old Time Churches of Vermont

Posted on November 25, 2013October 21, 2021 by Jeff Easterling

The architect author of this historic monograph, written in 1927, didn’t think much of colonial architecture – or rather, didn’t really think of it at all – until he designed a colonial-inspired structure of his own. It was then that he discovered the particular character of the styles from that era, and in fact, fell in love with the region he was born in for the first time.

Asked to write about the churches of Vermont for this issue, the author says they speak for themselves. “Simple, straightforward, not particularly well proportioned, some of them, and a little too plain and severe, perhaps, to our modern eyes; more meeting houses than churches, more practical than architectural in the treatment of the gallery windows; still they are full of the character of New England and all show evidences of thought and loving care in the building of them.”

The Puritanism of the builders may have prevented any of the Gothic flourishes or extravagant stained glass seen in churches of other time periods and places, but like most other colonial architecture, these churches have a quiet charm that fits right into the countryside of New England.

Read more and see additional photos at the White Pine Monograph Library.

A White Pine Monograph Hoax: The Massachusetts Town That Doesn’t Exist

Posted on November 15, 2013October 21, 2021 by Jeff Easterling

What’s the deal with Stotham, Massachusetts? Look up this little town online and you’ll find that it doesn’t actually exist. Yet architect Hubert G. Ripley waxes rhapsodic about the ‘unspoiled New England village’ in Volume VI, Issue II of the White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs, written in 1920. When it was printed, nobody questioned Ripley’s account. It wasn’t until the 1940s that catalogers at the Library of Congress discovered the apparent hoax.

Ripley writes of a small town which, by the early 20th century, was virtually preserved as it had been during its glory days, without the blight of cheap contemporary buildings. He goes into great detail about the lineage of the family that founded the town, explaining which of the descendants built each home featured in the photographs. “Generations of blushing maidens have swung on the old Billings gate, opening on the path leading to the meadows, in the pale light of the harvest moon, lending shy ear to the rustic swains of the village, as in whispered and halting phrases they spoke of their hopes and aspirations; and as a result of these meetings, old traditions were kept alive.”

Passages like this reveal that perhaps Ripley wished he were a novelist rather than an architect, for everything he writes about in this issue is fictional. There’s even a ghost story. So what was Ripley’s motivation for doing such a thing, especially when the White Pine Monographs were known for being so carefully researched and accurate?

The truth, as editor Russell Whitehead revealed in the 1960s, was that there were a great deal of photographs that didn’t make it into earlier publications for various reasons. He and Ripley looked through them and found them too good to be wasted, so they hatched a plan to write a little story. You can read the whole thing at the White Pine Monograph Library.