Country Houses of New Zealand - North Island

AH and AW Reed, 1971 edition, Good condition with dustwrapper
A gulf separates us today from the high standard of design sensibility and taste which directed the conception of the first country houses in New Zealand. Yet the similarity of construction over the past 150 years is such as to cause wonder: the two-storeyed timber-framed house with its verandah and its coved ceilings to the first-floor bedrooms has remained the basic farmhouse since 1820, although there have been obvious differences through the years. To record these variations Michael Fowler travelled with his sketchbook throughout the North Island. The result is 38 impressions in sepiatone of a range of old and new country houses, all with architectural merit and some with historical associations. The accompanying text illuminates the background, starting with Kemp House at Kerikeri (1822) - and ending with a modern dwelling at Waikanae. Here are illustrated grand mansions and simple cottages, in Regency, Georgian, Edwardian, Spanish and many other styles. Here is a work for all those interested in houses, presented in a manner to delight readers...