In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

HUMANITIES 201 more profound than has often been supposed. That is, even while recognizingWalpole's role as one ofthe first to revive Gothic architecture, many have dismissed him as a dilettante with little real understanding of the style. Early in the nineteenth century William Beckford belittled Strawberry Hill as a 'Gothic mousetrap,' and in 1873 Thomas Graham Jackson denied the influence of the house on the revival by saying that it was no more Gothic than the Brighton Pavilion was Indian. McCarthy believes that the importance of Walpole and the others whom he discusses is in their emphasis upon the principles of historicism (fidelity to precedents) and asymmetry, both of which were central to the nineteenth-century phase of the movement. Historicism was made possible by the availability of architectural pattern-books, notably those of Batty Langley, and asymmetry derived from the irregular designs of gardens and gardenbuildings. Of these two principles, historicism seems to have been the stronger, most ofthese architects preferring symmetrical plans and ornamentation for their buildings. McCarthy's treatment of his subject is descriptive rather than analytical . That is, he presents buildings through illustrations and detailed description ofselected features. He also gives many facts about architects, their patrons, and business dealings between the two. The book, then, is a documentation of the origins of the Gothic revival, and~ as such it is a beautiful and useful book. Handsomely produced by Yale University Press, it has over two hundred drawings and photographs. These, along with the text, provide valuable information about this little-known and neglected phase of the Gothic revival. On the other hand, the author does not adequately explain the evidence he has so painstakingly assembled, seemingly more comfortable on the level of concrete facts than that of abstract ideas. Too seldom does he rise above the level of these facts to present a comprehensive and comprehensible view of the whole. As a result, the reader might have trouble following the development of the principles of historicism and asymmetry, discerning unity and direction in the book's organization, and, in the end, understanding clearly the significance of it all. (MICHAEL BRIGIIT) Martin Segger. Buildings of Samuel Maclure. In Search of Appropriate Form Sono Nis Press 1986. 273, illus. $45.00 Nancy Z. Tausky and Lynne D. DiStefano. Photographs by Ian MacEachern. Victorian Architecture in London and Southwestern Ontario University of Toronto Press 1986. x, 493, illus. $29.95 Both of these books are significant contributions to Canadian architectur- 202 LETTERS IN CANADA 1987 al history, which, until recently, was characterized by general studies (MacRae and Adamson, The Ancestral Roof, 1963; Gowans, Building Canada, 1966). These contained some inaccuracies in details and omissions of important examples, owing to the paucity of reliable regional or individual publications on architecture and architects. With the trend in . the late 1970S and the i980s towards producing monographs (Reksten, Rattenbury, 1978; Wagg, Percy Erskine Nobbs, 1982; Barrett and Liscombe, Francis Rattenbury and British Columbia, 1983; James, John Ostell, 1985; Bingham, Samuel Maclure, Architect, 1985), we are now entering an era in which we will be able to assess the common threads binding architects working in the same time period in Canada. On the whole Segger makes a worthwhile effort at placing Maclure's individual buildings within the context of international styles and influences of particular architects, although I could not agree with his strained comparison of Maclure's frame J.M. Whitney House (1912, Victoria) with two houses, Heathcote and Salutation, by the English architect Lutyens, who so successfully exploited rough-cast brick and stone. This questionable comparison is the basis for Segger's suggesting that, at this point in Maclure's career, he was being influenced by British rather than American sources. But why would he seek classical precedents overseas, when such well-known American firms as McKim, Mead and White were producing Colonial Revival designs, well suited for frame residences? Their H.A.C. Taylor House (1883-6, Newport, Rhode Island, illustrated in such publications as the American Architect and Building News of23 July 1887) is surely a more likely candidate as influence on the Whitney House in its use ofmaterials, delicate handling of classical details, paired chimneys, roof...

pdf

Share