New-York tribune., 1912-02-25

their full effect. They do not include
such monumental and familiar mansions
as Lansdowne House. Devonshire House
and York House. but confine themselves
10 the minor town dwellings erected
during the period from 1860 to 1870.
The formative influences Of this urban
architecture reach back to the beginning
OF the seventeenth century however TO
lingo Jones and John Webb. The i'm
petus given by them to urban domestic
architecture in London was checked by
the Civil War and the Commonwealth,
II Is true. but what they had achieved
was not lost and forgotten. least of all
what Jones had learned in Italy from
Pallado The Restoration gave Chris
topher Wren his opportunity; the Great
Fire Of London proved TO be an archi-
tectural blessing in disguise 10 the city.
Dutch Williams" architect Daniel Ma
rot, introduced a new element-many
meritorious names must be omitted here;
they may be found in the book. The
period may be said TO have ended under
the protracted influence of the Adam
brothers:
These smaller London houses represent
a valuable heritage of past history and the
contemporary character of London life, eN-
tending over a period of 80 years. Low
able houses every one of them, ana each
as fresh in expression to-day as "heh
first erected. Here in town are to be seen
stately porticos. richly ornamented door
ways exquisite ironwOrk and warm brick
work imposing statrcaseS, rooms as lofty
as the state rooms at Hampton Court.
Such are our London houses. standing
Compacty and in mute protest against the
incisive attacks made on the Gngllsh prln-
C.iple of homo life by the erection of mod
ern blocks of flats. These houses were oc-
cupied by people who lived their lives IN
a leiSuTelv manner-they had time TO ENJOY
their homes and TO appreciate minute de-
tails In the days Of Sir Christopher
Wren or the brothers Adam gentleman
Of even moderate means Would nave
been ashamed TO have had inferior door
furniture i'm his house or to have been
content with a badly designed door Knock
er; people in those days lived Thoroughly
and were sufficiently appreclative OF the
details to insist on good nnlsmngs. sam.
uel Pepys personally superntended the ar
ranging OF such small internal features IN
his house as the cupboards for ms DOCKS,
and also records with pleasure the coming
OF a new fireplace for HIS wife's closet
The Cavaliers who returned with
Charles II abandoned their mansions,
many of which were situated in the CITY,
and inaugurated the migration west
ward, which resulted also in the lay
ing out of some Of the older squares.
The impetus given TO building by the
Great Fire need not be pointed out The
authors divide the development of urban
architectural design during the two hun
dred and fifty years dealt with into three
periods: the early, or formative. 1866
172O: the middle, or Palladian. l12O-6o'
and the refined. or formal classical. l16O-
1920.
The text. its historical part aside, Is
intended chiefly for architects. but tech
nicaIities are scrupulously avoided. There
are numerous diagrams. kind of draw
ing with which the layman of to-day
Is sufficiently familiar, their explanations
being. moreover, as clear as possible
Mention should also be made of the
chapter on interior decoration in the
architects sense Of the word. which
does not concern itself with furniture
and bric-a-brac, but with halls and stair
cases, fireplaces, the treatment of walls
and ceilings. the employment Of wains-
coting and wrought iron work and the
like. Illustrations being given OF balcony
ratings, and also Of fanlights For the
convenience Of the interested wanderer
in London there is chronological list
OF the principal squares and streets, the
typographical treatment of the subject
being arranged throughout on the model
Of practical guide-book
1t iF perhaps unreasonable TO regret
that the authors have not gone further
into the subject Of the attention paid
ct one time by English literature to
English domestic architecture. They
make appreciative mention OF Smollett