05 April 2006

More Inaction & some book nerditude

Well, this week has so far been mostly taken up with non-house time commitments - doctor's appointments, historical society meeting, grocery shopping. However, a couple of good things came of it.

First, we now own a copy of the Schoolhouse Electric catalog. WOW! We definitely want to upgrade to some of those fixtures in the future. Lots of them are perfect for our house.

Next, I'm an enormous book nerd. I used to be a bookstore employee, prior to finally becoming a professional graphic artist about 10 years ago. So, in that vein, here is my book geekery for those who care to read it:

Dover Books offered me a Presidents' Day discount coupon ( I saved a whopping 10 bucks, but I had wanted to get some more books for a long while now) and I took advantage of it to buy some references.

  • The 1912 and 1915 Gustav Stickley Craftsman Furniture Catalogs


  • This was mostly purchased for the purpose of getting a better idea of the overall look of a furnished Craftsman house. I might keep it, but I may also donate it as I already have a much more practical reference for building my own repro furniture.

  • Aladdin "Built in a Day" House Catalog, 1917


  • I bought this, just in case my house might be an Aladdin, since Rosemary Thornton can't pinpoint it as any particular Sears kit model. So far, I've determined that it clearly isn't an Aladdin, either (all the hardware/details being Sears items is a big giveaway there). However, this catalog shows several light fixtures identical to several that are reproduced by Schoolhouse Electric. If you have an Aladdin, they are definitely the company to get your replacement fixtures from!

    Since I've answered my own question, this catalog will probably get donated to the local library. There are probably at least a couple of Aladdins around here, since they were the other major manufacturer of kit houses in this region.

  • Easy-to-Make Arts and Crafts Lamps and Shades


  • I bought this out of curiosity, and I may actually be getting quite a bit of use out of it. The instructions are for making lampshades (and building lamps and light fixtures) out of cheap, lightweight materials. Very Sexy. Chris has been inspired.

  • Arts and Crafts Designs


  • I bought this as I have several other Dover Pictorial Archive books from the Art Nouveau and Arts&Crafts periods. I was hoping it would have new things. Unfortunately, no. Most of the things in it are redrawn from other sources, all of which I have. However, if you want a nice cheap general design ref and can only afford one, it's worth it. This is going to the library, too.
Since I am reviewing books here, let me list several (also Dover books) that I already own and like:

And, finally, some I'd like to get:

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