David Adler, Architect – The Elements of Style (2002)

David Adler (1882-1949) was one of the most important architects designing homes and estates in the United States during a period known as that of the “great American house”. Adler’s works, which range in date from 1911 to 1949, were truly American, offering an enormous range of stylistic expression on the exteriors and a simpler definition of interiors than traditional European models allowed. This volume features 17 homes and one private club designed by Adler, all of which are reproduced in colour with commissioned photographs by the firm of Hedrich Blessing. Highlights of this volume include: the Stuart-style country house in the manner of Sir Christopher Wren, built for Mr and Mrs Richard Crane in Ipswich, Massachusetts; the Celia Tobin Clark residence, in Hillsborough, California, in which Adler used English half-timber construction; and the William McCormick Blair House, built in Lake Bluff, Illinois, a Colonial New England farm house that constituted a new experiment for Adler. Other Adler homes featured in this book include the Mrs C. Morse Ely House (1915), the Lake Bluff, Illinois; the Mr and Mrs Richard T. Crane House (1925-28), Ipswich, Massachusetts; the Mr and Mrs Stanley Field House (1925-27), Sarasota, Florida; the Mrs Celia Tobin Clark House (1929-31), Hillsborough, California; and the Mrs Kersey Coates Reed House (1931-32), Lake Forest, Illinois. The work also presents examples of Adler’s interior designs, which respond to the demands of modern life by featuring both the use of new materials and historical elements or furniture acquired during his European travels. Condition: some light shelf-wear to covers, otherwise very good.