Victorian Interior Decoration: American Interiors 1830-1900

The book cost more than $100 new, a price that I don't think can be justified, given the fact that the book is printed on cheap stock, with few color illustrations.

This book has been extremely informative for me as I get ready to renovate and furnish a home built in 1861. It shows the changes in style for each decade or so, and has lots of drawings and photos of furniture and other decor. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to authentically reproduce any part of the era discussed.

Researching a mystery novel with a Victorian subplot, I pillaged the library for reference books. This one (I've just ordered my own copy) stands far above the rest. Not only are the details accessible, but the book references design mavens and trendsetters of that time so you can follow those research threads as well. Only problem is the maddening absence of color in sections addressing color. The black and white "color wheel" on pg.130 has got to be a first. And what on earth is "citron?" Beyond that, however, this is a well-organized goldmine of thoroughgoing detail about Victorian decorating bound to delight those interested in authenticity.

I voluteer at an 1844 farm in Ann Arbor, MI. I have been researching paint colors and wallpaper for a sitting room and this book was the best source I have found. There is good descriptions of the tastes and styles of each time period as well as some pictures that really show what they are talking about. More pictures would have been helpful, but it's good book for those looking to do true historic restoration. My one problem with the book is the lack of paint colors. It will say, "they used to paint the rooms blue-green, grey or yellow" but the book doesn't show what these colors looked like or even what the color range to begin in. That is my only criticism. If you are looking to be completely accurate with your restoration more work and research would be required, but this book is the best place to start.

Two years ago, we moved into a house built in 1875, and bought up an armload of Victoriana books to tell us what to do with it. Most of them were "decorator porn" -- lots of gorgeous pictures (many photographing the same places) that inspire a person to go antique hunting or to refinish Aunt Martha's rocker. This book is different! It divides 70 years into 4 periods, and for each, tells you plenty about what went on the walls, on the floors,on the windows, on the ceilings. It tells how the composition of paint (and its effects) evolved over the century, recommends books for sources of historic wallpapers, and tells how to recapture Victorian room colors amidst modern lighting. Generous notes on bygone lifestyles, too, with sprinkled quotes from Charles Eastlake, Godey's Lady's Book, and other 19th century gurus of taste. If you want something to help you capture the look (or just understand it) of another century, here it is. More encyclopedic than (the also useful, but much shorter) "Creating Authentic Victorian Rooms." The downside? Very low porn quotient: No glossy paper and few colored pictures (even for contemporary photographs)--but numerous 19th-century prints and diagrams.