A Guide to Old American Houses 1700-1900 Author:Henry Lionel Williams and Ottalie K. Williams This unusual volume will enable antique collectors, historians, architects, students and all lovers of fine houses to identify the main styles of houses built between 1700 and 1900 and to detect earlier or later features grafted on to them. Since the American colonists started building their first permanent homes in the 17th century, fashions h... more »ave changed many times. Even houses erected no more than sixty years ago have been remodeled and have had their faces lifted time and again as changing fashions and ideas of convenience demanded, making it very difficult for the casual observer to name the original style from which the house developed. Yet, it is not impossible to do so once the information contained in this handsome book is learned. With more than 180 photographs taken by the authors especially for this volume and a wonderfully descriptive and authoritative text at his disposal, the reader will be able to identify and understand what he is looking at. He will know where, when and how the architectural details originated, and he will be able to detect the identifying features of each style and what they represent, as well as recognize where styles have overlapped.« less