Carl W. Condit’s Publications—a Chronological Bibliography, 1946–1988

Abstract

Carl W. Condit’s Publications—a Chronological Bibliography, 1946—1988 DEBRA N. MANCOFF A list of Carl W. Condit’s publications offers more than the evidence of an active career in scholarship; it provides insight into the workings of a powerful intellect fueled by genuine curiosity. For more than forty years Condit has explored a vast realm of inquiry. From his landmark volumes on American skyscraper construction and Chicago commercial architecture to his recent studies of the railway systems of Cincinnati and the greater New York environs to his critical analyses of structural form, urban development, and modern aesthetics, one element unifies this extraordinary diversity—Condit’s continuing fas­ cination with the interactive development of advancing technology and the shape of the man-made environment. As a writer, and as a teacher, Condit exhibits a rare balance of the humanist and the scientist. He welcomes changes in our world with enthusiasm and inquisitiveness, but he challenges those changes in light of the lessons of history. Throughout his long and ongoing in­ vestigation of culture evolving in a technological society, Condit never loses sight of the human position: its scale, its condition, and its spirit. His work provides a dialectical discourse on people and their world. As he charts the course of modern structural form and engineering, he traces the growth of modern values and human concerns. The range of Condit’s subjects attracts a wide public. His readers include students and scholars of architectural history and technology, practitioners of architecture and engineering, historic preservation­ ists, and railroad buffs. Throughout his career as a writer Condit has published in varied forums, indicating his own acknowledgment of his diverse audience. His books, his numerous entries in dictionaries and encyclopedias, and his essays in scholarly collections have been of great value to student and professional alike. To present his ideas with force and clarity to this multifaceted pub­ lic, Condit demonstrates his belief that good writing is an essential component of sound scholarship. He never burdens his language with Dr. Mancoff teaches in the Department of Art and Art History at Beloit College.©1989 by the Society for the History of Technology. All rights reserved. 0040-165X/89/3002-0010$01.00 258 Carl W. Condit’s Publications, 1946—1988 259 jargon, nor does he limit his vocabulary to the confines of a single field. Clarity and economy characterize Condit’s writing, whether the subject is architectural criticism, the history of science, or the analysis of a transportation system. The interested lay audience can compre­ hend his most difficult argument, while the professional and the scholar can read his popular publications with avid interest. His commitment to clear thought expressed in clear language recalls that his early influences included not only Lewis Mumford and Sigfried Giedion but also H. L. Mencken and Bertrand Russell. The following bibliography grew out of an independent studies project undertaken by two art history students at Beloit College, Chris­ topher Collins and Barry James. Like many small liberal arts insti­ tutions, Beloit offers neither a program in architecture nor one in the history of technology. Since they were interested in building construc­ tion, the students asked me to direct a course of readings in structural techniques. They began with Condit’s American Building Art and re­ turned to his work in selections from his other publications. When they completed their reading course, I asked them to help me assem­ ble a bibliography. They uncovered the full corpus of Condit’s pub­ lished writings and, through their search, explored the modern technological environment under his guidance. Those of us who stud­ ied with Carl Condit are gratified to see that his words continue to interest and excite students just as they did when we were in his classroom. New generations will continue to enjoy the resonance of his voice, and he will continue to teach us through his writings. “Modern Building Construction and the Chicago School,” Northwestern Engineer (June 1946): 16 + . “The Humanization of Technics,” The Humanist 6 (Summer-Autumn 1946): 82-88. “Modern Architecture: A New Technical-Aesthetic Synthesis,"Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 6 (September 1947): 45 —54. “The Chicago School and the Modern Movement in...