Architectural Elements: The Technological Revolution (Victorian Architecture & Advertisements)

From coast to coast, America's architectural treasures are being threatened and lost. Here are the jewels before they became the jewelry, shown off, piece by piece, in the catalogs that blueprinted the architectural revolution of the last century. The turned balustrades, newel posts, columns, scrolls, mouldings, leaf work, cut and ground glass and so on, serve to illustrate the look and feel of an era. The six catalogs reproduced here contain architectural elements that had been used, tested and even awarded prizes for some time before reaching the general public; these listings announced the mass production that was to change the face of America's dwellings.