Archaeology Magazine - March 1948 - 58

ARCHAEOLOGY

BOOK

REVIEWS

Rights, Douglas L. The AmericanIndian Architecturein America (Oxford Univerin North Carolina. 296Pages. Duke Uni- sity Press, New York 1944),describesthe
developmentof a local architecturebased
versity Press, Durham 1947 $5.00
as thoroughlyupon the Greek as the reNorth Carolinaprovidesan area almost quirementsof design permitted, and the
uniquefor the studyof the Indian cultures intellectualforceswhich first won considof eastern America, for here most of the eration for it, and in the period 1820-1860
main cultures from the North, the South, enthronedit as the ruling nationalstyle.
With so much ground to cover, Mr.
and even from the West, found a meeting
Hamlin
could describe eloquently the
of
the
ground. Many
early explorers
touchedit. Traders travelledin it. Wars trends in the great metropolitancenters
were fought betweenwhites and Indians. of the seaboard,but elsewherehad room
Fortunatelyfor our knowledgetoday John to locatein time and space only the work
White painted what he saw and others of important individual architects, and
left travel accountsor storiesof the wars. significantsingle buildings. Large areas
Excavation of Indian sites, though still of the country are mere blanks on his
Mr. Hamlin himself acknowlregrettablyfew in number, have contrib- canvas, as his
bookhas built a framework
uted to our knowledgeand studies of the edges; but
other historiansof architecture
living descendantsof the ancient tribes- on which
men have added valuable facts about may now assemblea series of regional
studiesto completethe picture.
formerdays.
Mr. Carl F. Schmidt is an architectof
Douglas L. Rights, student of Indian
life since his youth, has mastered the Scottsville,New York, a village in the
sourcesand in this bookpresentsthe facts GeneseeValleyten miles aboveRochester.
he has discovered. The first part of the He has furnished a modelof how it may
book is arranged chronologicallyaccord- be done in his GreekRevival Architecture
ing to discovery and contacts. This is in the RochesterArea. He beginswith an
followedby notesabout individual tribes, accountof the inceptionof the style, nota chapter on Indian life and one each on ing the contemporary Greek Revival
archaeologyand Indian antiquities. The movement in Europe and emphasizing
product is a bookcrammedwith interest- rather more clearly than Mr. Hamlin its
ing information. Well-chosenquotations fundamentalsterility, in contrastwith the
from the literary sourcesgive the reader fertile imaginationand deft inventiveness
a desire to becomeacquainted with the which characterizedthe Americanmoveoriginals themselves. One hundred and ment and made it for half a century a
ten plates, all well chosenand admirably living, sophisticated, original, national
clear, provide ample illustration for the architecture. This chapter, though brief,
material in the text. The author's ar- contains many provocative suggestions.
rangementof his material doesnot always The next chapter sets the stage for Rochmake for easy, consecutive reading. ester and its vicinity; the first settlers
Nevertheless comprehensive knowledge, built the first log cabins on the site soon
great enthusiasmfor the subject, and a after 1800,and by the late 1820'smasons
real affectionfor the peopleof whom he and carpenterswere busy lining the streets
writes combineto give the book a great of the thriving village with GreekRevival
deal of color along with sound historical façades, and also with Post-Colonialand
values. No one interestedin the Indians Gothic Revival- eclecticismhad arrived,
of the easternseaboardcan afford to miss the builders' handbooksoffered a selection of details, and most buildings show
it.
Wallace E. Caldwell
someinterminglingof styles. Fortunately,
the early designers have not been forUniversity of North Carolina
gotten; Mr. Schmidt is well read in the
history of the Genesee Valley, and has
wrung from the recordsthe namesof CapSchmidt, Carl F. Greek Revival tain Daniel Loomis, his son Isaac
Architecturein the RochesterArea. 200 Loomis,and S. P. Hastings, as well as
pages, 71 illustrations from photographs such lesser figures as Robert T. Elliott,
Austin, and Jason Bassett.
and drawings. Author, Scottsville,New Marvin
Some of the buildings assigned to them
York 1946 $3.50
are still standing.
The excellentstudy by Talbot Hamlin
Succeedingchapterstake up in turn Enof Columbia University, Greek Revival trances and Porches, Materials and De-

tails, Interiors, Mouldings,and Builders
and the Builders'Handbooks.Thesechapters, with technical notes and many detailed drawings, are written for the professional architect rather than the layman. Here one might wish for more
floor plans; many an amateur has wondered to what extent the preoccupation
with façade acted as a straitjacketto stifle
innovationin the interior.
Two final chapters list and brieflydescribe a number of individual buildings;
the first containsGreek Revival buildings
in Rochesteritself, the secondthosein the
surrounding villages. These are abundantly illustrated by photographsand by
neat architecturaldrawingsby the author;
admire particularlythe Campbell-Whittlesey House in Rochester (illustrated on ,
pages li, 71, 99, 103, 119,125, 129,133),
with its lovely interior; CollegeHall, at
Lima Seminary,Lima (page 24) ; the bold
and unusual Bowman-Furnaldhouse at
Clarkson (pages 66, 153); the Presbyterian Church at Brockport (page 145),
with Mr. Schmidt's acute comments
(pages 148, 150) on the problemof designing a Greek Revival steeplewith no
classical examples to follow; and the
Walter Ferral housein Scottsville(pages
183, 189), with its vigorous and novel
designand details.
We should like to hear more about the
Societyfor the Preservationof Landmarks
in Western New York, which has acquired and carefully restored the Campbell-Whittleseyhouse; other activitiesof
a society so named should attract wide
interest.
Mr. Schmidthas rendereda signal public service by assemblingand publishing
the material and by stressingthe constant
forcesof change,adaptation,modification,
and confidencein native good taste rather
than slavish dependenceupon the copybooks, which kept the Greek Revival
movementhealthy. He has publishedthis
and a companion volume, Cobblestone
Architecture, at his own expense,exacting
obviouseconomiesof engraving,printing,
and binding; and the servicesof an editor
would have spared Mr. Schmidt some
repetitionand a numberof misprintsand
misspellings. It is now to be hoped that
an alert publisher will commissionMr.
Schmidt to do for the whole rich region
of Western New York what Mr. Hamlin
has done for the urban movementon the
seaboard,and publishit in a format commensuratewith the charm of the material.

Archaeology Magazine - March 1948

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - March 1948