Here is a sumptuously illustrated, authoritative introduction to the principal architectural and decorative styles of the American house from colonial times to the mid-20th century. In this beautifully produced volume, the authors identify the landmark houses that best exemplify America"s major architectural and decorative styles since Colonial times. Each of the 25 houses included is illustrated with specially commissioned colour photographs of interior and exterior views, drawings and floor plans, and historical paintings and photographs. The text emphasizes the personalities and lifestyle of the period, architect-client backgrounds and relationships, technological innovations and sources of design elements. Because the featured houses were built by the country"s leading architects - from Alexander Jackson Davis and Richard Morris Hunt to McKim, Mead and White, Frank Lloyd Wright, the Greene Brothers and Walter Gropius - and owned by some of its most celebrated citizens including Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, Jay Gould, the Guggenheims, the Phipps, and the Vanderbilts, the book is a cultural history as well as an architecutural study. Located all over the United State, most of the houses are open to the public, and the book provides a listing of their addresses and visiting information.