Help me find a book: cutaways of households from different periods

July 16, 2017 6:53 PM

Sometime between 2004-2008, the Frick Art Museum in Pittsburgh had a room with a bunch of books on historical houses...

I'm looking for two in particular: one which was a large book with cutaway illustrations of houses from different historical periods (eg Edwardian house), and another which had, probably among other things, very clear descriptions of the early electrification of English country houses (I remember the bit about the hydro power and electric candlesticks that poked through a tablecloth very vividly -- seemed like a good way to set the party on fire!) I've rummaged around online, but never been able to find them!

posted by thandal to Society & Culture (4 answers total)

Houses by Piero Ventura matches your first description, though there may be others.
posted by tchemgrrl at 7:19 PM on July 16, 2017

The first reminds me of the Thorne Miniature Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago - perhaps a book collection of them?
posted by Paragon at 7:20 PM on July 16, 2017

Response by poster: "Houses" looks pretty great! I ordered a copy and will take a look.
posted by thandal at 7:13 PM on July 17, 2017

We found it at the library and it stuck with us. David Macaulay has some similar books but they are more focused and so not likely to be exactly what you saw (Pyramid, Castle, Underground.) Houses seems historically accurate, but it's more whimsical; there is a bare bottomed royal using a chamber pot and children chasing cats. It's got a lot of charm.
posted by tchemgrrl at 7:56 PM on July 17, 2017