Kitchens, Smokehouses, and Privies: Outbuildings and the Architecture of Daily Life in the Eighteenth-Century Mid-Atlantic
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.20 (825 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0801447917 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-03-22 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"Re-cycled, Undocumented, Murky Pictures" according to R. Parsons. Of the 101 illustrations, 2Re-cycled, Undocumented, Murky Pictures R. Parsons Of the 101 illustrations, 24 are of reconstructions or fanciful restorations. An additional 19 are stock/poster shots (i.e. Williamsburg, Mount Vernon, Monticello) or tenuously connected historical engravings (i.e. Dürer's St. Jerome in his study; Jean-Baptist Greuze, The Laundress.) Thirty-five are of the restoration at Colonial Williamsburg. Eighteen are of European origin.Of the 101 illustrations, only four are documentary photos of unrestored interiors: the l. are of reconstructions or fanciful restorations. An additional 19 are stock/poster shots (i.e. Williamsburg, Mount Vernon, Monticello) or tenuously connected historical engravings (i.e. Dürer's St. Jerome in his study; Jean-Baptist Greuze, The Laundress.) Thirty-five are of the restoration at Colonial Williamsburg. Eighteen are of European origin.Of the 101 illustrations, only four are documentary photos of unrestored interiors: the l. Mis-titled book Author Michael Olmert won his reputation writing Emmy award winning documentaries and scholarly, yet readable, books. Copiously illustrated with almost 100 black and white photographs of survivings outbuildings, Olmert's book gives an excellent overview of the various dependencies which served the large 18th century Tidewater or Chesapeake plantation house - their origins, evolutions, and functions. The book focuses on the kitchens, smokehouses, laundries, dairies, of. "a coffee table book for small coffee tables!" according to L. DERRY. Although I apreciate having the many photos of these outbuildings and drawings pulled together in this one book, I was a little disappointed. I was hoping for a more in depth orginal study. It appears to be mostly a summary of the work of other scholars, which is a laudable task, but I find it exceedingly hard to trace the information presented back to the original sources, which is what many of us would like to find and cite. Also, although the format is very attract
He is also the author of The Smithsonian Book of Books and Milton's Teeth and Ovid's Umbrella: Curiouser and Curiouser Adventures in History. He has won three Emmys for writing documentaries and is a regular contributor to Colonial Williamsburg magazine. Michael Olmert teaches English Lite
In two appendixes he also considers octagonal and hexagonal structures, which had special significance, both doctrinal and cultural, in early America.Archaeologists and historians still have many questions about the design and function of outbuildings-questions that are often difficult to answer because of the ephemeral nature of these structures; they were not documented-any more than laundry rooms and storage units inspire rhapsodies today. Olmert's book, deeply grounded in scholarship, eminently readable, and profusely illustrated, takes these buildings seriously and gives them the attention they deserve.. Privies and small offices are also addressed, as is the dovecote, in which doves were raised for their eggs, squab meat, feathers, and fertilizer. He is riveted by the history of outbuildings: their architecture, patterns of use, folklore, and even their literary presence. These structures were designed to support the performance of a single task: cooking food; washing clothes; smoking meat; storing last winter's ice; or keeping milk, cheese, and cream fresh. In Kitchens, Smokehouses, and Privies, Michael Olmert takes us into the eighteenth-century backyards of colonial America. He explores the many small outbuildings that can still be found at obscure rural farmsteads throughout the Tidewater
The book's main argument is that we should take these buildings seriously, because they can teach us about the society that built them. "In Kitchens, Smokehouses, and Privies, Michael Olmert takes readers into the backyards behind the great houses of the Chesapeake. This book is essential for any serious student of Colonial America."Richard Guy Wilson, author of Buildings of Virginia. Elegantly written with great insight and accompanied by many photographs and drawings, Michael Olmert's book illuminates how the grand houses and also the mor