America at Home in the 20th & 21st Centuries 

Revised 7/8/2008

This guide is designed to help find information on the development of home products and interior decoration of the typical American home in the 20th & 21st Centuries. 

See the Interior Design & Home Products subject guide for additional suggestions.
 

FLOOR PLANS / ELEVATIONS

BOOKS
 Use StyleCat  Online Catalog using the following subject terms:

A few suggested titles:

Burness, Tad. The Vintage House Book: Classic American Homes 1880-1980. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2003.
Circulation Desk  NA7207 .B84 

Clark, Clifford Edward. The American Family Home, 1800-1960. Chapel Hill: U. of North Carolina Press, 1986.
Art Reference  NA7205 .C58

Decorative Art: The Studio Yearbook (title changed to Decorative Art and Modern Interiors in 1961). London: The Studio, 1906-80 (We have volumes covering several years between 1934 and 1980. Not limited to American homes).
Art Reference  NK9 .D4 (some volumes are in Main NK9 .D4)

Walker, Lee. American Homes: the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Domestic Architecture. NY: Black Dog, 2002.
Reference Stacks  NA7205. W34

MAGAZINES & CATALOGS
These titles are available in Periodicals Services, 6th floor.

• Architectural Record, 1966 - current

• Architecture, 1983 - current

• Better Homes & Gardens, 1980 - current

• House & Garden, 1941 - 1993

• House Beautiful, 1921 - current

ONLINE DATABASES THROUGH DIGITAL LIBRARY

• Art Full Text & Art Index Retrospective 1929-1984 [1929 - current]

• Architectural Index

• New York Times Historical  [1851-2001] through ProQuest (floor plans 1920s through 1960s only)
  Steps to follow once you open New York Times Historical in Digital Library:
  In Proquest: choose NYT Historical
  In search box put: floor plan* and home
  In "From Date" & "To Date" put: 4-digit year, e.g. 1950-1960
  Click Search
  On the results list: click Refine Search
  In "Look for terms in": Citation & Document text *
  In "Document Type": choose Photo standalone
  
  * For the 1920s & 1930s,
  In "Look for terms in": Citation & Abstract
  In "Document Type": choose Article

WEB SITES

Designing Domesticity: Decorating the American Home Since 1876
http://www.personal.kent.edu/~swajda/designing_domesticity1.htm
Each of 4 sections includes style and colors, house sizes (some with plans), hospitality, family and consumerism. Extensive decade-by-decade bibliography of “Domestic Advice, Home Economics, Home Decorating, and Interior Design Guides Published in the United States.”

Home Economics Archive
http://hearth.library.cornell.edu/
“Browse” offers a breakdown by time periods listing full-text books and magazines, many containing floor plans. Most useful for 1860-1939.

Sears Archives
http://www.searsarchives.com/homes
1908-1940. Includes history, photos, and plans.

Aladdin Homes 
http://clarke.cmich.edu/aladdin/Aladdin.htm
Click on View full text of the Annual Sales Catalogs
1908-1951.  Includes floor plans, elevations, construction materials, description of designs. NOTE:  Not all years include all aspects of the houses.

social life / arts / politics / culture in the 20th century

Use StyleCat  Online Catalog using the following subject terms:  

• United States social life and customs
    [add "pictorial works" to find books with many images]

• United States civilization 20th century

• United States economic conditions

See the Subject Headings Used in Online Catalog for an extensive list of subject headings.

“Timeline” books in Reference Stacks, call number D419+

“Americana” books in Reference Stacks, Art Reference and Main, call number E161+

A few suggested titles:

Caplow, Theodore and Louis Hicks, Ben J. Wattenberg. The first measured century: an illustrated guide to trends in America, 1900-2000. Washington, D.C.: AEI Press, 2001.
Reference Stacks  HN60 .C38 2001
Online Version:  http://www.pbs.org/fmc/downloadbook.htm

Derks, Scott. Working Americans, 1880-1999. Lakeville, CT : Grey House Pub., 2000-<2003>.
vol. 1: The Working Class;  vol.2: The Middle Class;  vol. 3:. The Upper Class;  vol. 4: Their Children;  vol. 5: Americans at War;  vol. 6: Women at Work; vol. 7: Social Movements; vol. 8: Immigrants
Reference Stacks  HD8066 .D47 2000 Library Use

 Fischer, Claude S. and Michael Hout.  Century of difference : how America changed in the last one hundred years.  New York : Russell Sage Foundation, c2006.
Reference Stacks E741 .F49 2006 Library Use

Gordon, Lois G. and Alan Gordon. The Columbia Chronicles of American Life, 1910-1992. NY: Columbia University Press, c1995.
Reference Stacks  E169.1 .G664

Gross, Ernie. The American Years. NY: Thomson Gale, 2003. 
Reference Stacks  E174.5 .G753 2003  [2 vols.]

Kurian, George Thomas, ed. Datapedia of the United States: American History in Numbers. 4th ed.  Lanham, MD: Bernan Press, 2007.
Reference Stacks  HA202 .K87 2007
Note: Covers years 1790-2005
Online version of 2004 edition available through Gale Virtual Reference Library.

Rose, Cynthia, ed. American Decades Primary Sources. Detroit, MI: Thomson/Gale, 2004.
Online version available through Gale Virtual Reference Library.

United States. Bureau of the Census. Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census: for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1975.
Reference Stacks  HA202 .B87 [2 parts]
Online Version:   http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab.html

The Value of a Dollar: Prices and Incomes in the United States, 1860-2004. 3rd ed. Millerton, N.Y.: Grey House Pub., 2004.
Reference Stacks HB235 .U6 V35 2004
Online version through Gale Virtual Reference Library

“Color Source”  & DESIGN

Cabarga, Leslie. The Designers Guide to Global Combinations: 750 Color Formulas in CMYK and RGB From Around the World. Cincinnati: How Design Books, 2001.
Reference Desk Section_A  NC997 .C28 2001

Cole, Drusilla, ed. 1000 patterns: design through the centuries. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2003.
Reference Desk Section_A  NK1530 .A19 2003

 Gantz, Carroll M.  Design chronicles : significant mass-produced designs of the 20th century.  Atglen, PA: Schiffer Pub., c2005.
Art Reference NK1390 .G36 2005 Library Use

Miller, Judith.  Decorative Arts. New York: DK Publishing, c2006.
Art Reference NK1175 .M55 2006

Miller, Judith. The style sourcebook: the definitive illustrated directory of fabrics, wallpapers, paints, flooring, tiles. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books, 2003.
Reference Desk Section_A  NK1705 .M56 2003

Riley, Noel, ed. The Elements of Design: a Practical Encyclopedia of the Decorative Arts from the Renaissance to the Present. NY: Free Press, 2003.
Reference Stacks  NK750 .E48

Walch, Margaret and Augustine Hope. Living colors: the definitive guide to color palettes through the ages. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1995.
Reference Desk Section_A  ND1510 .W35 1995

Walch, Margaret. Color source book. NY: Scribner, c1979.
Reference Desk Section_A  ND1488 .W34

WEB SITE

Pantone: 40 Years of Color
http://rpi.edu/news/magazine/fall2005/decades_of_color.pdf
 

HOME PRODUCT & INTERIORS HISTORY

BOOKS
Use StyleCat  Online Catalog using the following subject terms:  

A few suggested titles:

Abercrombie, Stanley. A Century of Interior Design: 1900-2000. NY: Rizzoli, 2003.
Reference Stacks  NK1980 .A23 2003

Gantz, Carroll M. Design Chronicles: Significant Mass-produced Designs of the 20th Century. edite Atglen, PA : Schiffer Pub., c2005.
Art Reference NK1390 .G36 2005

Lifshey, Earl. The Housewares Story: A History of the American Housewares Industry. Chicago: National Housewares Manufacturers Association [1973]
Reference Stacks  HD9773 .U5L5  &  Reference Desk, Section A  HD9773 .U5L5

Phaidon design classics.  London ; New York: Phaidon, 2006.  [3 volumes] 
Reference Stacks TS171 .P53 2006

Tambini, Michael. The Look of the Century. NY: DK Pub., 1996.
Art Reference  TS171 .T35 1996

Also try Art Reference & Main Stacks books in call numbers NK1390, NK1980, NK2395, & NK2004.

MAGAZINES & CATALOGS DISPLAYING HOME PRODUCTS, 6th floor

• Sears, Roebuck and Company Catalog, 1897-1993 (microfilm), 1960-1993 (print)

• See also the magazines listed under "Floor Plans / Elevations"

WEB SITES

Advertising: Television Commercials & Print Advertisements
http://www3.fitnyc.edu/library/research_guides/internetguide/int_advertising_clips.htm
FIT Library Information Bulletin

IDSA 100 Years of Design
http://www.idsa.org/webmodules/articles/anmviewer.asp?a=51
Excerpts from Significant Mass-Produced Designs of the 20th Century, by Carroll M. Gantz, FIDSA, published by Schiffer. Info on products/designers.

MetroLounge
http://www.bitlounge.net/retrolounge
Links to many decade specific sites (not all US) and very object-specific sites.  Images including advertising, architecture, cinema, design, fashion, music, paperbacks, photography, retro look, toys, transportation, tvs & radio

Interior Design Resource Center [IDRC], 5^th floor, rear

This collection contains many current manufacturer and vendor catalogs for furnishings, lighting, plumbing fixtures and hardware, as well as a wide selection of fabric, paint, flooring, wood, and stone samples.