American Colonial Puritan Simplicity to Georgian Grace

The American colonial design period moves from the late twilight of medievalism through traditional building methods to the sophisticated pattern-book formality of the Age of Enlightenment, with its rules of taste and insistence on order and symmetry. While early structures were largely derived from English prototypes, American buildings soon evidenced intense regionalism, reflecting local tastes and preferences; those tastes were in some cases academic and high style, and in others vernacular and of folk origin. The variety and dynamism in American domestic architecture in the colonial period are indicative of the pluralism of American society. Added to these factors of provincialism, regionalism, and academic tastes are the elements of social, cultural, economic, and technical history affecting American architecture.
From the earliest period of simple heavy timber framing to the later period of elegant brick and stone, from wedding chests to Chippendale chairs, authentic colonial architecture and interiors are explored in more than two hundred color photographs that capture the essence of the colonial kitchen, parlor, bedchamber, and workshop. The principal photography is by Paul Rocheleau, who brings his expertise in architectural photography and sensitivity to the design period to this ultimate survey of American colonial.

Wendell Garrett is senior vice president of American decorative arts at Sotheby's New York and editor-at-large of The Magazine Antiques.