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Windows on the Past : Four Centuries of New England Homes
Windows on the Past Four Centuries of New England Homes Author:Viera, Jane C. Nylander, Wendell Garrett " For most Americans, the quintessential images of New England are traditional emblems of America itself: colonial houses, neat farms, country lanes, and the glory of the changing seasons. As Windows on the Past shows, the houses that New Englanders built for themselves from before the American Revolution and into the twentieth century tell us m... more »uch about them and their lives. In the more than two dozen homes presented here, all properties of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, food was cooked and eaten, soap and candles were made, flax and wool were spun, clothes were sewn and laundered, babies were conceived and born, children were taught and disciplined, and family members died. To save New England's historic houses-and thus its memory-William Sumner Appleton in 1910 founded SPNEA to "act instantly wherever needed." Over the years SPNEA has owned and preserved more than one hundred historic properties, including twenty-five now open to the public as historic house museums and ten other "study houses." The SNEA houses, farms, and gardens hightlighted in Windows on the Past, both urban and rural, old and relatively recent, offer an unparalleled look at life in New England from the 1600's to the 1940's: early clapboard houses, tidy farmsteads, handsome Georgian homes, Gothic confections, and a landmark of modern architecture, Walter Gropius's own house in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Windows on the Past features an evocative photo essay accompanied by the words of New England writers and poets and takes us on a tour of classic landscapes, flower and kitchen gardens, and working farms; four centuries of home building; fascinating interiors and furnishings; family ties to their homes; advances in cooking, heating, plumbing, and lighting; and the evolution of dining rituals. This elegant book also tells the stories of individuals who have worked to save the varied pieces of New England's heritage. Through these backward glances into daily life and regional traditions of long standing, the legacy of New England's people and historic places resonates more clearly than ever."« less