Nineteenth Century Builder's Guides: Influence on Mississippi Architecture

Abstract

Architectural design and guide books were very popular in America during the nineteenth century because of the scarcity of trained architects coupled with the demand for buildings in the rapidly developing new country. The widespread use of building handbooks by competent carpenter‐builders accounts for much of the similarity of buildings in various sections of the country.For this study, photographs of Mississippi buildings were matched with design plates published in American builder's guide and pattern books during the nineteenth century. Design parallels were found for exterior designs, floor plans, and finishing details such as door frames, mantels, and plaster work. Minard Lafever's The Modern Builder's Guide (1833) and The Beauties of Modern Architecture (1835) were the most popular guides; however, designs published by Asher Benjamin, Samuel Sloan, Calvert Vaux, Orson Fowler, Frank Wills, and Andrew Jackson Downing were also utilized.