Great Georgian Houses Of America - Vol II

If geometry had a sequel, Great Georgian Houses of America – Vol. II (1970, Dover Publications) is it—the encore where the fanlights wink a little brighter, the dentils stand a little straighter, and the cornices clear their throats for a second round of perfect proportion. Brought to you by the indefatigable Architects Emergecy Committee (still heroically short a vowel, long on measured drawings), this volume continues the continental love affair with Georgian order, that polite doctrine insisting a doorway should have the confidence of a statesman and the waistline of a golden ratio.

Open the covers and the parade resumes: elevations that land like well-aimed compliments, sections that confess the secrets of staircases, and moulding profiles so crisp you can practically hear the carpenter purr. From Charleston calm to Philadelphia poise, the houses here do not merely stand—they pose, offering lintels that lecture gently and windows that breathe in 12-over-12. Dover, being Dover, serves the plates with monastic clarity: nothing fluffy, everything useful. You’ll find plans that behave, joinery that negotiates with light, and façades that prove symmetry isn’t fussy—it’s merciful.

The commentary is equal parts field note and love letter. Expect origin stories of sites and families, forensic asides on brick bonds and ashlar tricks, and the kind of professional gossip that tells you why a Tuscan column minds its manners while Corinthian keeps a diary. Volume II also leans into details Volume I made you crave: stair brackets that flirt, mantelpieces that could host a salon, and doorcases that solve arguments by simply existing.

Our copy is Condition: Good, which in Crappy Old Books dialect means: structurally sound, gently weathered, and clearly respected by previous custodians with rulers in their pockets. The spine has posture, the pages are clean, and the edges admit to a life well lived on drafting tables and beside teacups. Minor shelfwear? Naturally—true Georgian spirit prefers patina to plastic.

Highlights you can lord over dinner:

• Measured drawings that let you steal with honour (and build with accuracy).

• Portico politics: when to scale back, when to sweep in, when to leave well enough alone.

• Stair intelligence: rises, runs, and the balustrade’s subtle diplomacy.

• Moulding grammar—because a cornice, like a sentence, should end with conviction.

The ISBN, for those who collect integers alongside entablatures: 0486224929. Whisper it at a reclamation yard and watch the sash weights materialise like loyal retainers.

Recommended for:

• Designers who keep calipers by the kettle.

• Restorers who’ve memorised the difference between “central” and “centred.”

• Readers who believe a good façade can rescue a bad afternoon (it can).

Adopt this Good survivor and let Volume II finish what Volume I started: re-square your world, re-train your eye, and remind your porch that it, too, could be magnificent. You bring the wall space; it brings the gravitas. Crappy Old Books: lowering your standards just enough to raise your cornice.

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