New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-10-18

With numerous Illustrations Alto, pp. xiv, Isl
Imported BY Charles Scribner's Sons.
MODERN HOUSING IN TOWN AND COUNTRY;
Illustrated with Examples o. Municipal and
gouae &ede cotase eea and Villages also Plans
and Descriptions OF the Cheap Cottage ,o sNn I0
ported by Charles Scribners Sons
The history of rsts goes back TO Roman times
(455 B. CO. perhaps earlier but their
general use as habitations in England ana
America has been of very recent development
and it is only OF quite late years that the prob
lens that they present Of convenience. economy
beauty and sanitation have engaged the serious
attention Of our best architects. The two studies
Of the subject now under consideration the one
admirably supplementing the other. present in
comprehensive form what may he said to be the
latest word the matter though primarily
from the British point of view.
Mr.. Perxss volume is the wider IN its scope
and treats the whole subject from its beginnings
through its development in different countries.
vet always with reference first and last to Great
Britain This should not be taken to imply
however that either his book or Mr. Corness
Sc not full Of valua bic suggestion to architects
n-operty owners and sociologists in America and
elsewhere The earliest British fats were built
IN Scotland in the twelfth century. to accommo-
date the growing population of Edinburgh ana
x.ba~ walled cities Mr., Perks shows plans Of
sasaed Dr. Johnson. and illustrations Of the
satbouse built on the masonette principle,
s-bsr. sir Walter Scott dwelt for twenty-eight
wears Many men distinguished in letters and
.stafecrsft occupied apartments in the Albany
Psccadily, built early in the last century. Among
them may be noted Lord Byron Lord Macaulay
snd ". E. Gladstone, setting a fashion largely
Followed by literary men who live in cities to-
Gay.
Nr Perks expresses regret that the English
hrchfteots who built some Of the early blocks
OF fats In london did not refer to Continental
spIans and he calls attention to the lack Of skill
Hisulayed in the arrangement of many OF the
r,ider fathouses in London, and in New-York
&s well. One advantage. nevertheless character
kstso Of these earlier attempts In both countries
SIS noticed In the generally larger size of the
s~oonns and passages. Building laws are now
s,uite stringent in regard TO matters OF VentiIa-
ZION and sanitation on both sides Of the At
santic. The author regards the regulations IN
London in the matter of the ventilation OF toilet
sroor,s as superior to those in vogue in America
rrhfIe he considers our laws requiring all STAIR
nEays to have direct light from outside to be un-
necessarily severe, although no doubt desiraple'
Tn addition to the great variety of English fats
ehopr by Mr.. Perks. many Of the more moderh
NJ which show distinctly the influence of for
views and plans Of typical Continental apart
s,ents and few of the later American nat
s,ous.s though hardly sufficient to illustrate the
many different directions into which fat oullo-
ing has divagated in this country one olrTlculty
experienced by the English architect Is SET Ioi'n
In the following paragraph:
To the average English tenant the shape o. a
room is always OF seeo4oa at t So abroad In
England the question of deciding II mouse OF ma
her daughsr me ne atter bv the size Of the draw
ing room room is usually pralsed II
large sPd s.tIs is small ana Of P nS im
portarc s The result is that architects dare not
attempt TO improve an i1Tegula5 Shaped room evn Ty
metrical When site is at the corner OF two two
streets not at right angles; In5 pan y English
architect leaves the room as it is uncomfortfno Die
ana ana tn sscTce oor space and make the
smaller? These things are th sfge pTss must not
be given TO the architects French people want.
that is is praised abroad would be condemned in
England.
If in the writing of Mr.. Perks's volume, no al
dusion has been made 10 the subject Of cheap
fats for the working classes. IL is merely because
the matter is treated so much more at length IN
s"Modern Housing Mr.. Cornes, the author Is
n member Of the town council of Leek, Stafford
shire and the builder and owner of several
sblocks of model dwelling houses there which are
Get at an inclusive rental of from five shillings
nznd sixpence to FIVE shlings and nirepence a
<veek. The plans. which are modestly placed al
s4he end of the volume, eloquent Of what can
ype accomplished in the matter Of furnishing
comfortable homes to self-respecting people at a
aow cost where land does not exceed in cost
FL 600 an acre. The cottages are typical OF the
accommodations provided in the more recent
municipal and semi-p hanthropic enterprises Of
"a like nature. now being largely undertaken in
lCreat Britain. At the price given the tenant
receives a tasteful dwelling house containing a
f,arlor kitchen, combined scullery and bathroom
and three good sized bedrooms. The scullery, it
will be noticed. in all the plans shown Is much
more important feature in English cottages and
fats than in those Of America where its place
Is taken by small pantry, or, more generally,
st is omitted altogether. Yet it is included in
England even in the and two-room fats
designed for the poorest classes. Another pc
culiar feature in most of the British cheap flats
as the association Of the bath with this same
scu1lery. economic outcome undoubtedly Of
The fact that all such apartments must be self
heated. Indeed, it is rare to find a bedroom
without a fireplace Mr.. Comes is the inventor
OF an ingenious system OF supplying hot water
for bathing purposes from the kitchen range,
without having recourse to a high pressure
boiler, and IL is noticeable that large proper
zion Of the plans shown in the book provide for
this device. An Improvement has also been
made whereby, where space is especially pre-
cious, the bath is balanced on pivots so that
when not in use It can be swung upright against |
the wall and inclosed in a small closet This
volume is especially valuable from the point OF
view OF the sociologist in exhibiting the wide
spread interest taken in Great Britain in the sub
feet of model tenement houses: and every such |
enterprise Of note is described and illustrated