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Cape Cod Houses Recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey

A Select List

page 2 - Bibliography

Lot Harding House
Lot Harding House

Introduction | Connecticut | Maine | Massachusetts | Rhode Island | Bibliography

Bibliography

1-1/2 story homes: Cape Cod, Georgian, Tudor, Contemporary Adaptions. Farmington Hills, Mich.. [LC call number: NA7205.A126 1986]
126 pp; illus. (some in color). Commercial presentation of contemporary house plans by Home Planners, Inc. providing perspective with full floor plans; cubic feet. Cape Cod houses are included on pages 9-14; 20; 27-34.

Andrews, Peter. "The Cape Cod: A New England Treasure House."; American Heritage (Mar. 1973: 2-6 [LC call number: E171.A43, 1973 Mar.)

Deals with Cape Cod House of John Young Newcomb, which was visited and written about by Henry David Thoreau.

Baisly, Clair. Cape Cod Architecture. Orleans, Mass.: Parnassus Imprints, Inc., 1989. [LC call number: NA7235.M42 C3735 1989].

210 pp; small line illus. for architectural terms. Very general overview of types of architecture on the Cape, including the Cape Cod cottage, described on pages 35-54. Historical characteristics; development of the floor plan; differences between early Upper Cape and Lower Cape domestic architecture. A glossary of architectural terms. No specific houses studied.

Bruce, Curt. Revelations of New England Architecture: People and Their Buildings. New York: Grossman Publishers, 1975. [LC call number: NA 715 .B78 1975]

179 pp; illus. Very readable explanation of components of the earliest types of buildings in the Northeast. For Cape Cod houses, Chapter I, "England Versus the Elements: The Puritan Compromise,"; provides a basic understanding of how early settlers chose to build and how compromises later occurred. In Chapter 2, "Under the Skin,"; the interior layout of the Puritan home is discussed, with the floor plan of a typical chimney-house shown on page 26. The Cape Cod style is briefly explained on pages 32-33. Page 46 shows a Cape Cod house in Sandwich.

Bryant, Carrolla A. Pilgrim Homes and How They Were Built. [West Duxbury, Mass.]: n.p., 1934. [LC call number: NA707.B8]

26 pp.; illus. An excellent study of the components of the Cape Cod house: chimney, roof, windows, various rooms, hardware, farming. Includes photos of Cape Cod houses, including the Bradford House in Kingston, and the Delano Cottage in West Duxbury whose history and restoration are described in two chapters. Foreword and history chapter by the Delano Cottage’s owner Gleason L. Archer.

Cape Cod Home & Garden. Chatham, Mass.: Cove Communications, Inc. Periodical [5 issues a year], vol. 1, no. 1 (Mar./April 1990-) [LC call number NK202.C37]

Periodical with articles on famous historical homes on the Cape, with emphasis on interior design, landscaping,

"The Cape Cod Style."; The Old House Journal, 27, no. 5 (September 1, 1999): 67. [LC call number: TH3401.O43]

Describes development of the Cape Cod style house and its types (half, double, and three-quarter) as they have appeared throughout American history. Examples of the 20th century Cape Cod house and a discussion of its popularity.

Chamberlain, Samuel. Cape Cod in the Sun. New York: Hastings House, 1937. [LC call number: F72 .C8C5]

96 pp; illus. Photographic study of landmarks, streets, and architecture of the Cape, including ten exterior black-and- white views of Cape Cod houses.. Page 14 shows a Cape Cod houses in Sandwich, Mass.; page 42 a wayside inn in Yarmouthport, page 51 a cottage in East Dennis, page 52 another in East Dennis, page 62 cottages in Chatham, page 64 one in North Chatham, page 67 one in Chathamport,, page 68 a 1792 Cape in Orleans, and page 90 shows the oldest house in Provincetown.

"Classic Cape Cod Cottage."; Colonial Homes, Vol. 23, no. 6 (November 1997): 90-94. [LC call number: E162 .H68]

House design by William Poole which is an adaptation of a Cape Cod house from his "Romantic Cottage Collection.";. 2,076 square feet two-story house detailed in color photos, interior drawings, floor plans, with blueprint ordering information.

Connally, Ernest Allen. "The Cape Cod House: An Introductory Study."; Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, vol. 19 no. 2 (May 1960): 47-56. [LC call number: NA1.A327, 1960 May]

A valuable and comprehensive historical study of this style, 1750-1850. History of the development of the Lower Cape of Massachusetts and its buildings. Discussion of the floor plan and room use over time, with specific houses illustrated such as the Baker-Biddle House, Higgins-Avery House, and Rowell House at Wellfleet, the Cox-Wheeler House in S. Truro, the Hallett House in Yarmouth. Stylistic developments up to the 1850s.

Crosby, Katherine. The Cape Type of House. Yarmouthport, Mass.: C.W. Swift, "Register"; Press, 1927. [LC call number: NA707 .C85]

6 pp.. Part of series, Library of Cape Cod History & Geneaology, no. 10.
Gives history and geneaology. Discusses the later development in 1700-1825 of the "Cape type." States common features as being one story and a half high. Usually sit side to the road. They have big chimneys, usually opposite the front door, with low profile and no foundations. No projecting eaves. Their front windows set close up to the roof. Most of the Cape houses are partly or fully shingled. Cites examples. General color is silver grey, windows have plank frames instead of box frames , floors are wide planking.

Cummings, Abbott Lowell. The Framed Houses of Massachusetts Bay, 1625-1725. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1979. [LC call number: NA730 .M4C85]

261 pp.; 281 illus. with diagrams, plans, photos. Discusses the English-derived hall/parlor floor plan where the chimney serves both rooms as a pattern that continued through the centuries in American houses such as the Cape Cod type (pages 6-7). Chapters on each component of the colonial house: the floor plan and its development, the frame, the chimney. While the Cape Cod house is not individually treated, this is a useful overall guide to the development of the colonial timber-framed house of which it is a derivative.

Doane, Doris. A Book of Cape Cod Houses. Drawings by Howard L. Rich. Old Greenwich, Conn.: Chatham Press; distrib. by Viking Press, New York, 1970. [LC call number: NA707.D6]

91 pp.; ill.; plans, perspective drawings, interior details. Very useful introductory gudie to the style. Some specific houses mentioned, such as the Atwood House in Chatham, Mass,; the Wick House in Falmouth, Massachusetts and the Nathaniel Freeman House in Dennis. Excellent description of basic floor plan, and rooms found in the three sizes of "Capes;"; interior details Conclusion on pages 87-88 mentioned Royal Barry Wills as responsible for 20th-century renaissance. Bibliography, pp. 91.

Kittredge, Henry. Cape Cod: Its People and Their History. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1930. [LC call number: F72.C3 K62]

344 pp.; front., plates, ports., maps. Bibliography pp. 327-330. In the chapter "How the Early Settlers Lived,"; pages 76-80, the early Cape houses are described, including the Sears House in Dennis, Mass.

Learning Zone Express (Firm). House Styles: A Tour Through Time. Owatonna, Minn.: Learning Zone Express, 2001. 1 videocassette. [Not in LC]

Overview of U.S. housing styles, including Cape Cod style.

Maurer, David and Stephen Freeburg. "Cape Cod Houses."; Colonial Homes, vol. 21, no. 2 (April 1995): 102-107. [LC call number: E162 .H68]

Study of the Cape Cod style house. Elements of its form; examples with floor plans.

Metropolitan Federal Savings and Loan Association, Boston. A Group of Fifty New England Colonial Homes from the Designs of Miles Standish Richmond, Architect. Boston, Mass.: Metropolitan Federal Savings and Loan Association, 1939. [LC call number BA7573 .M4]

59 pp.; illus. (including plans). Five contemporary Cape Cod houses are featured with perspective and floor plans on pages 16, 36, 42, 44, and 56. Three variant or modified Capes are also illustrated on pages 13, 29, and 34.

Morash, Russell and Bob Vila. Two-Story Cape-Style. [Alexandria, Va.}: PBS Video, 1988. 6 videocassettes (60 mins. each). Part of television series "This Old House." [Not in LC]

Discusses structural flexibility of the style and its rediscovery in the 1940s., and shows refurbishment methods.

New England Sampler: A Treasury of Home Plans & Decorating Ideas from Colonial America: 264 plans, 200 Interiors. Tucson, Ariz.: Home Planners, 1993. [LC call number NA7210 .N48 1993]

383 pp; illus. (some in color). Useful visual presentation of the modern 20th century "Cape Cod."; Chronology of Colonial architecture; short definition of the Cape Cod home. 39 modern variants are detailed in perspective drawings, floor plans, and interiors on pages 22-63.

Nieves, Evelyn. "Wanted in Levittown: Just One Little Box with Ticky Tacky Intact." New York Times, vol. 145, no. 50234 (November 3, 1995): B1

The Levittown Historical Society is searching for a 1947 Levitt Cape Cod house for its headquarters. Significance of the design is discussed.

Oatman, Russell Swinton. The Cape Cod Collection of House Designs. Princeton, Mass.: R.S. Oatman, 1985. [LC call number: NA735.M42C375 1985]

23 pp.; ill. Designs and plans. Commercial presentation by an architect of historic houses and contemporary plans based on historic houses. Presentation of 11 houses with perspective drawing and floor plans. Historic houses include Solomon Howes House [based on] in Chatham (house no. 1 ,2, 3), a "Yarmouth"; Cape (house no. 4). The "Old Fire Room House"; in Lincoln, Rhode Island (House no. 5), the Dodd House in Princeton, Mass. (House no. 7), the Buck House in West Chatham, Mass. (House no. 8), the Sturtevant House in North Carver, Mass. (House no. 9), as well as houses found on Cape Ann, Beverly and Falmouth, Massachusetts.

Poor, Alfred Easton. Colonial Architecture of Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. New York: W. Helburn Inc., 1932. [LC call number: NA7235.M4 P6]

135 black-and-white plates showing photographs, drawings. Lavish pictorial survey of historic houses in Cape Cod; brief foreword but no real written treatment. Exterior views with doorways, windows, details; interior views. Plates 118-134 are measured drawings and include the Judge Freaman House, Dennis House, and The Motor Car Inn (all in Dennis), plus the Jethro Coffin House in Nantucket.

Powell, Anne Elizabeth. The New England Colonial. New York: Bantam Books, 1988. [LC call number: NA7210 .P68 1988]

248 pp.; color illustrations. Brief outline of development of the colonial house in Plymouth, Mass. on pages 8-9.

Rich, Shebnah. Truro - Cape Cod, or, Land marks and Sea Marks. Rutland, Vermont: C.E. Tuttle, 1980. [LC call number: F74 .T9 R4 1988]

Reprint. Originally published: Boston: D. Lothrop, 1883. 580 pp.; plates; illus. with engravings. Rich local history of the area, including chapters on "The Pilgrims in Truro,"; and "How They Lived.."; On pages 332-342, the development of the early houses on the Cape is described. Pages 385-388, "Comfortable Homes"; generally describes room use, activities. Page 340 shows a "double"; Cape Cod house.

"Royal Barry Wills, Master of the modern Cape Cod House." Old House Journal, XX, no. 4 (July 1992): 28-29. [LC call number: Th3401. O43, 1972 July]

Architect who repopularized the Cape Cod style house for post-war America; examples of his modern version.

Schneider, Paul. The Enduring Shore: A History of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket. New York: Henry Holt, 2000. [LC call number: F72 .C3 S34 2000]

367 pp.; illus.; maps.

Schuler, Stanley. The Cape Cod House: America’s Most Popular Home. Exton, Pa.: Schiffer Pub., 1982. [Not in LC]

144 p.; illus. Pictorial survey, with brief history.

Schuler, Stanley. Saltbox and Cape Cod Houses. West Chester, Pa.: Schiffer Pub., 1988. [LC call number NA7210.S39 1988]

160 pp.; ill (some in color). Pages 88-158 show mostly exterior and some interior views of historic Cape Cod houses in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Some 20th century "Capes"; by Royal Barry Wills. Some floor plans Mostly pictorial treatment. Introduction "Past, Present and Future"; described popularity of style; pages 6-7 the origins of the "Cape"; style cottage.

Trayser, Donald G. Eastham Massachusetts, 1651-1951. Eastham, Mass.: Eastham Tercentenary Committee, 1951. [LC call number: F74.E2 T7]

183 pp; illus. Pages 140-146, "Old Houses of Eastham," provide brief listing of families associated with old houses, 6 b&w illustrations of Cape Cod style buildings: Crosby Tavern, Sylvanus Doane House, Thomas Gill House, Peter Higgins House, Ella Mayo House, and Nathaniel Swift House.

Whitefield, Edwin. Homes of Our Forefathers in Massachusetts. Dedham, Mass.: E. Whitefield, 1892. [LC call number: F65 .W59]

39 mounted plates from original drawings by Whitefield; colored paper stock. Perspectives with brief historical information. Cape Cod houses include the Standish House in Duxbury, the Burton House in Plymouth.

Whorf, A. "A Style is Born: the Cape Cod House." Country Living, vol. 12 no. 2 (Feb. 1989): 80. [LC call number: TX1 .G727]

Discusses the design of one of the most popular and enduring architectural styles in America. History; description; qualities of design.

Williams, Henry Lionel and Ottalie K. Williams. A Guide to Old American Houses, 1700-1900. New York: A.S. Barnes and Company, 1962. [LC call number: NA7205.W5]

168 pp.; illus. (plans). Interesting study of the development of the early traditional New England house on pages 23-36, including floor plans. The Cape Cod house is illustrated in figures 1, 28, 29, and 30; pages 33-35. In Chapter 5, "An Architectural Melting Pot,"; the characteristics of New England Colonial, which includes Cape Cod, is well-described on pages 142-143

Wills, Royal Barry. Houses for Good Living. New York: Architectural Publishing Co., Inc., [1940]. [LC call number: NA7120.W65 1940]

104 pp; illus. (incl. plans). Wills contributed greatly to the revival of the "Cape Cod"; style house. 34 houses, mostly in the Northeast, are described. Contemporary house plans include the Cape Cod style house as seen in the Pope and Cottle House, the Maynard Renner House, and others. Promotional work for building new homes with guides for the new homeowner.

Wills, Royal Barry. Houses for Homemakers. New York: Franklin Watts Inc., 1945. [LC call number: NA7127 .W618]

94 pp; illus. (incl. perspective drawings and floor plans). Modern Cape Cod cottages found on pages 36, 37, 40, 49, 56, 59, 67, 70; "Cape Ann"; style house on page 63.

For Introduction and List of Sites, see page 1

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