Useful books on Technology (Heating, Plumbing, Kitchens) for the Historic House
Recommended Core Reference Works
Click on a book title to view more information or to search for the book on Amazon or AbeBooks.
| Author | Title | Published | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beecher, Catharine and Harriet Beecher Stow | The American Woman's Home | 1869 | Reprint. Hartford, CT: Stowe-Day Foundation, 1975. A window into the American home in the years following the Civil War. |
| Handlin, David P. | The American Home: Architecture and Society, 1815-1915 | 1979 | Another thoughtful classic that continues to be read. |
| Konzo, Seichi | The Quiet Indoor Revolution: Changes in Home Heating and Cooling, 1910-1990 | 1992 | Best book on the subject. |
| Nylander, Jane C. | Our Own Snug Fireside: Images of the New England Home, 1760-1860 | 1993 | |
| Ogle, Maureen | All the Modern Conveniences: American Household Plumbing, 1840-1890 | 1996 | |
| Winkler, Gail Caskey | The Well-Appointed Bath | 1989 | Reprint of trade catalogues with scholarly essay. |
Other Recommended Works
Click on a book title to view more information or to search for the book on Amazon or AbeBooks.
| Author | Title | Published | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ames, Kenneth L. and Gerald W. R. Ward (eds) | Decorative Arts and Household Furnishings in America, 1650-1920 | 1989 | Includes an article by Donna R. Braden, "Kitchen Artifacts and Housework" and an article by Ulysses Grant Dietz on "Plumbing, Heating, and Lighting." |
| Curtis, Will and Jane | Antique Woodstoves: Artistry in Iron | 1974 | |
| Davies, Jennifer | The Victorian Kitchen | 1989 | |
| Faye, E. Dudden | Serving Women: Household Service in Nineteenth-Century America | 1983 | Useful information on household servants. |
| Fitch, James Marston | American Building: The Environmental Forces that Shaped It. 2nd edition. | 1972 | |
| Garrett, Elizabeth D. | At Home: the American Family, 1750-1870 | 1990 | |
| Giedion, Siegfried | Mechanization Takes Command | 1969 | The 1969 reprint of the 1948 classic that remains well worth reading. |
| Gilbert, Christopher and Wells-Cole, Anthony | The Fashionable Fire Place, 1660-1840 | 1985 | |
| Groft, Tammis Kane | Cast with Style: Nineteenth-Century Cast-Iron Stoves from the Albany Area | 1981 | |
| Kira, Alexander | The Bathroom | 1977 | |
| Kranzberg, Melvin and Carroll W. Pursell (ed) | Technology in Western Civilization. 2 vols. | 1967 | Contains articles by Anthony N.B. Garvan on "Effects of Technology of Domestic Life, 1830-1880" and by Melvin M. Rotsch on "The Home Environment." |
| Lambton, Lucinda | Chambers of Delight | 1983 | |
| Lambton, Lucinda | Temples of Convenience | 1978 | |
| Lasdun, Susan | Victorians at Home | 1981 | |
| Lupton, Ellen and J. Abbott Miller | The Bathroom, the Kitchen, and the Aesthetics of Waste | 1996 | |
| Maddock's Sons Company | Pottery (A History of the Pottery Industry and its Evolution as Applied to Sanitation) | 1910 | |
| Muir, Frank | An Irreverent and Almost Complete Social History of the Bathroom | 1983 | |
| Palmer, Roy | The Water Closet: A New History | 1973 | |
| Peterson, Charles E. (ed) | Building Early America | 1976 | Includes articles by Eugene S. Ferguson, "An Historical Sketch of Central Heating: 1800-1860"; Diana S. Waite, "Roofing in Early America"; Kenneth M. Wilson, "Window Glass in America"; and Loris S. Russell, "Early Nineteenth–Century Lighting." |
| Reyburn, Wallace | Flushed with Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper | 1971 | Yes, there was a Thomas Crapper who was a major British plumbing contractor who ultimately became the sanitary engineer to the Royal Family. |
| Schultz, Stanley K. | Constructing Urban Culture: American Cities and City Planning, 1800-1920 | 1988 | |
| Strasser, Susan | Never Done: A History of American Housework | 1982 | |
| Wright, Lawrence | Clean and Decent: The Fascinating History of the Bathroom and the Water Closet | 1960 |