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Houses of the Founding Fathers
When they declared independence in Philadelphia in 1776, they changed the course of Western history. But the patriots—landowners, merchants, and professional men who hailed from towns, cities, and plantations scattered along the eastern seaboard—had private lives too, quite apart from the public deeds we know so well. In this breathtaking volume, historian Hugh Howard and photographer Roger Straus examine the everyday lives of the Founding Fathers. Houses of the Founding Fathers takes us on an eye-opening tour of forty stately eighteenth-century houses. We see the mansions of such legendary figures as Jefferson, Washington, Adams, and Hamilton, along with the homes of many other signers of the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. At sites from Maine to Georgia, with stops in each of the thirteen colonies, the grand story of the Revolution emerges from unique and individual domestic perspectives. Houses overlooking the sea, in busy townscapes, or atop mountains reveal these patriots’ tastes in architecture, furniture, and horticulture. There are tales of friends and enemies, murderous relatives, reluctant revolutionaries, adoring wives, and runaway servants. The founding families are brought to life in the rituals of birth and death, the food they ate, the archaic medical practices they endured, their household arrangements, and the way their slaves lived.
Houses of the Founding Fathers offers a penetrating look at the private lives of the men whose ideas ignited an insurrection against England—and who helped create the modern world.
Houses of the Founding Fathers offers a penetrating look at the private lives of the men whose ideas ignited an insurrection against England—and who helped create the modern world.
354 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 24, 2020
This is an excellent book that is filled with beautiful photographs and is very well researched and written.
In it, you will get a brief glimpse into the personal lives and residences of the people included therein.
It's one I slowly went through, and took my time studying the photos to see all the little nuances of what was in those homes. That's the photographer in me I am sure, but I always seem to look a little deeper for the treasures that are sometimes hidden behind or next to the main subject, and that is definitely true of this book. Take your time with the photos - they are amazing records of history.
In it, you will get a brief glimpse into the personal lives and residences of the people included therein.
It's one I slowly went through, and took my time studying the photos to see all the little nuances of what was in those homes. That's the photographer in me I am sure, but I always seem to look a little deeper for the treasures that are sometimes hidden behind or next to the main subject, and that is definitely true of this book. Take your time with the photos - they are amazing records of history.
March 22, 2015
I thought this was a terrific combination of large-format photography and "interesting blurbs." And the blurbs all varied. Well, biographical snippets about each person was a theme, but it's wasn't just all "marble bust" material. Facts about their relationship to the house, about their interrelations with other Founding Fathers, about how the houses fit into their communities (not just that most of these were the McMansions of their day, but specifically what sort of message the location and details were meant to convey to the builders' contemporaries), and some lil' histories of the houses themselves, in times both good and bad. And I thought that the prose was approachable. Terminology gets explained for non-architectural historians, but it's not condescending, and quick-paced enough to keep an architectural historian from getting bored.
June 25, 2008
The photography is beautiful, but I particularly liked the sidebar articles that deal with typical life during Colonial times and the people mentioned in the book. It made me want to visit all of the houses, and I felt like I knew more not only about the houses, but about the people who lived in them. Really heavy, but fun to look at.
December 17, 2007
I like early American architecture, and this book has lots of good full page pictures and information about the houses and the people who built them. Pretty straight forward, not crazy exciting or anything, but a pretty cool coffee table book.
May 13, 2021
"George Washington slept here" is such a cliché, until you realize he had so sleep somewhere. He travelled around the colonies to some extent as a private citizen, soldier, and president, and he often stayed with people he knew. A lot of them are in this book.
There's a lot of interesting information here, on the people whose houses are depicted, the houses and their history, and the history of the Colonies, the Revolution and early days as a country.
These are the people that made it happen. Almost all of them are men, but the women get mentioned now and then, mostly to say how many children they had, and how many of those children lived to adulthood.
We get why the owners had this house, did they build it, inherit it, buy the house, or just the land. Who made the plans if any for the original construction, or renovation. What do the house and its interiors look like now? Some look like the probably did back in the day, as well as modern research can tell. Some leave it as the families had lived in it for generations. A few show different time periods in different rooms. All of this is interesting, showing that houses are not static.
There are a lot of interesting sidebars about life at the time of the Founding Fathers: burying your dead, the perfect woman, medicaments, fireplace cookery, the craftsmen, candlepower. Also covered are a few specific battles of the Revolution: Trenton, Saratoga, Yorktown. Also covered are some of the artists who painted portraits that still exist in the homes. Slavery is mentioned, as it must be for the life of the times.
Some people might want more pictures, others might want more text. I feel there's a pretty good balance here. Some explanation, but not too much. Lots of pictures, but also explanations of them, and the people they belong to. Pictures of the houses as they are now, and also artworks depicting some houses at different time periods.
Houses are organized in three groups: The Colonies United, A Time of War, The Federal Era.
Recommended for fans of American history and the history of American architecture. It's a large and rather heavy coffee-table book, but it has a lot of interesting information I haven't seen elsewhere compiled together.
There's a lot of interesting information here, on the people whose houses are depicted, the houses and their history, and the history of the Colonies, the Revolution and early days as a country.
These are the people that made it happen. Almost all of them are men, but the women get mentioned now and then, mostly to say how many children they had, and how many of those children lived to adulthood.
We get why the owners had this house, did they build it, inherit it, buy the house, or just the land. Who made the plans if any for the original construction, or renovation. What do the house and its interiors look like now? Some look like the probably did back in the day, as well as modern research can tell. Some leave it as the families had lived in it for generations. A few show different time periods in different rooms. All of this is interesting, showing that houses are not static.
There are a lot of interesting sidebars about life at the time of the Founding Fathers: burying your dead, the perfect woman, medicaments, fireplace cookery, the craftsmen, candlepower. Also covered are a few specific battles of the Revolution: Trenton, Saratoga, Yorktown. Also covered are some of the artists who painted portraits that still exist in the homes. Slavery is mentioned, as it must be for the life of the times.
Some people might want more pictures, others might want more text. I feel there's a pretty good balance here. Some explanation, but not too much. Lots of pictures, but also explanations of them, and the people they belong to. Pictures of the houses as they are now, and also artworks depicting some houses at different time periods.
Houses are organized in three groups: The Colonies United, A Time of War, The Federal Era.
Recommended for fans of American history and the history of American architecture. It's a large and rather heavy coffee-table book, but it has a lot of interesting information I haven't seen elsewhere compiled together.
February 13, 2018
I think of this as a coffee table book and, as such, there were just too many words and not enough pictures!
I really wanted to see pictures of the whole exterior (and grounds) of each house, and some of those were lacking. I wanted to see any notable interior features as well, and many of those left something to be desired, too. I guess I wanted to feel like I’d been on a complete virtual tour of each home, and more often than not all I received was like a quick glimpse of one wall or side of maybe 5/20 rooms in each property.
I did not like how sometimes several houses were discussed in a single “chapter”: that did service to none of them.
Sometimes sidebar blurbs were interesting, but often I thought that space could have been better utilized by more photos and description of the house.
I could also have used some sort of glossary for the architectural terms that sometimes mired descriptions...what’s a balustrade, pediment, pilaster, quoin, etc.?
All that being said, still interesting descriptions and beautiful pictures of a lot of the historical locations mentioned in the many presidential biographies I’ve been reading!
I really wanted to see pictures of the whole exterior (and grounds) of each house, and some of those were lacking. I wanted to see any notable interior features as well, and many of those left something to be desired, too. I guess I wanted to feel like I’d been on a complete virtual tour of each home, and more often than not all I received was like a quick glimpse of one wall or side of maybe 5/20 rooms in each property.
I did not like how sometimes several houses were discussed in a single “chapter”: that did service to none of them.
Sometimes sidebar blurbs were interesting, but often I thought that space could have been better utilized by more photos and description of the house.
I could also have used some sort of glossary for the architectural terms that sometimes mired descriptions...what’s a balustrade, pediment, pilaster, quoin, etc.?
All that being said, still interesting descriptions and beautiful pictures of a lot of the historical locations mentioned in the many presidential biographies I’ve been reading!
September 11, 2018
Beautiful photographs by Roger Straus III. This book might more accurately been named "Surviving Houses from the Colonial era that are open to the public." The connection of some of these houses to the Founding Fathers is tenuous. Many fit the shibboth: "Washington Slept Here." The text and captions are variable. Some interesting tidbits, like the murder of George Wythe are included, even though the incident occurred elsewhere. Some captions identify the interesting objects in the interiors, others don't.
January 20, 2021
Very informative. Beautiful pictures,
September 1, 2009
Beautiful photography of beautiful homes. Well researched, written and documented history of America's founding fathers and their homes...even the lesser-known. Includes visitor information for each, glossary of terms, bibliography and more.
December 31, 2014
Beautifully photographed architecture and furnishings, fascinating stories and historical information, about 32 homes and the men and women, black and white, who lived there, and how they all contributed to the creation of the United States of America.
July 29, 2016
Love this book but then I love old homes and history. There is also wonderful little blurbs about these founding fathers with little known facts. I highly recommend this book if you love history, old homes, or our founding fathers.
February 8, 2008
Great history about these families and the country! Some great pictures of the places they called home!
April 6, 2009
Beautiful coffee table book like the other posts say. Plus short history of the persons/people on the bio of the house.
August 11, 2011
Gorgeous photographs, and interesting information about the Founding Fathers (and in some cases, the women in their lives), including some of the lesser known.
October 2, 2011
I enjoyed this a great deal. The biographical and historical information fascinated me. The highlight was the wonderful photography.
April 8, 2015
An interesting look at the architecture, history, and other stories behind the homes where some of America's founding fathers (and families!) lived.
June 13, 2015
Lovely picture book romp through the homes of the Founding Fathers. Recommended for those interested in the history of domestic architecture.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews