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The success of the new settlements in what is now the United States depended on food. This book tells about the bounty that was here and how Europeans forged a society and culture, beginning with help from the Indians and eventually incorporating influences from African slaves. Their daily life is illuminated through descriptions of typical meals, holidays, and special occasions, as well as their kitchens, cooking utensils, and cooking methods over an open hearth. Readers will learn how they kept healthy and how their food choices reflected their spiritual beliefs. This thorough overview endeavors to cover all the regions settled during the Colonial and Federal periods. It also discusses each immigrant group in turn, with attention given to Indian and slave contributions. It illuminates the settlement and adaptation of the European settlers, the European struggle for control of North America, relations between the settlers from different European countries, and changes in Native American society resulting from settlements.
◊ Hardcover: 248 pages ◊ ISBN: 0313329885 ◊
Newport—celebrated “City by the Sea” and home to America’s elite—has a deeply rooted history, both architectural and otherwise, that makes it a perennial destination, with more than 3.5 million visitors each year. The famous properties of the Preservation Society of Newport County, the annual Flower Show, the Jazz Festival, the Tennis Hall of Fame, and corporate retreats all bring a steady stream of tourists to Newport each year. Featuring 275 full-color photographs, this is the first book to reveal the privately owned mansions and gardens of Newport that are closed to the public and not part of the tours given by the Preservation Society. Never-before-published photos of these homes, which have been designed by distinguished architects and landscape designers, are stunning examples of Newport’s 375-year old-world architectural heritage.
◊ Hardcover: 224 pages ◊ ISBN: 082122848X ◊
The founder of Rhode Island and of the first Baptist Church in America, Roger Williams is the forgotten giant among the first English colonists. Readers follow Roger and Mary Williams on their 1631 journey to Boston, where he soon became embroiled in many controversies. Soon banished for these troubling (if farsighted) views, Williams wandered for fourteen weeks in bitter snow until he bought land from the Narragansett Indians and founded Providence, which soon became a sanctuary for religious freedom and a refuge for dissenters of all stripes. The book discusses Williams’ journey back to London, where he sought legal recognition of his colony, spread his enlightened views on Native Americans, and (alongside John Milton) fought passionately for religious freedom. Gaustad also describes how the royal charter of Rhode Island, obtained by Williams in 1663, would become the blueprint of religious freedom for many other colonies and a foundation stone for the First Amendment.
◊ Reading level: Young Adult ◊ Library Binding: 139 pages ◊ ISBN: 0195130006 ◊
Focusing primarily on maritime settlements such as Salem, Newport, and Boston and viewing them within the larger framework of the Atlantic world, Margaretta Lovell considers the ways 18th century New England experience was conditioned by its source cultures and markets. Colonial material culture participated in a non subsistence international economy, deriving ideas, pigments, and conventions from abroad, and reexporting them in the effort to enlarge market opportunities or to establish artistic reputations in distant London. Art in a Season of Revolution illuminates the participation of pictures, objects, and makers in their cultures. It invites historians to look at the material world as a source of evidence in their pursuit of even very abstract concerns such as the nature of virtue, the uses of identity, and the experience of time. This provocative new book challenges established frameworks for understanding the production of art in British America during the tumultuous decades bracketing the Revolution.
◊ Hardcover: 341 pages ◊ ISBN: 0812238427 ◊
When World War II came along, the American military found itself in need of a prefabricated, lightweight shelter that could be easily shipped and quickly assembled. The Quonset hut—named after its birthplace, the Navy base at Quonset Point, R.I.—was the answer. Over a hundred thousand were produced as part of the war effort. In its aftermath, even more were built and existing huts were adapted to house the postwar population boom. Of course, it couldn’t last: the American desire for permanence meant decay and neglect for many of these rough-and-ready shelters and quickie warehouses. But in the midst of its almost tragic tale of extinction, the Quonset hut has emerged as an unexpected icon of Americana and an oasis of architectural imagination. Travel the back roads of America and you will find the Quonset’s distinctive shape enclosing everything from houses of worship to houses of pancakes. Quonset Hut tells the story of this unique architectural phenomena, from its birth during WW II as a mass-production shelter to its new status as an icon of American pragmatism, ingenuity, perseverance, and individuality. Essays on the history of the hut and its influence on contemporary architecture are interspersed with period photographs of Seabees erecting the structures, House Beautiful magazines spreads, and cheery ads from manufacturer Stran-Steel (“There’s just no limit to how handsome a Quonset hut can be!”).
◊ Hardcover: 165 pages ◊ ISBN: 1568985193 ◊
This is the ninth volume in the Society of Architectural Historians’ Buildings of the United States. Rhode Island is the smallest state in the Union: slightly more than 1,200 square miles, 14 percent of which is taken up by the waters of Narragansett Bay. Yet this tiny enclave contains one of the richest concentrations of important historical architecture to be found anywhere in the United States. Buildings of Rhode Island is a guide to this heritage. Covering the state’s thirty-nine cities and towns in some 900 building entries accompanied by approximately 330 illustrations and 55 maps, it combines the comprehensive approach that is a hallmark of the series with a special perspective on Rhode Island’s built environment. It is one of the last works of esteemed historian of American architecture William H. Jordy, edited and updated by two of his collaborators and contributors for the volume, Ronald J. Onorato and William McKenzie Woodward.
◊ Hardcover: 736 pages ◊ ISBN: 0195061470 ◊
John Townsend (1732–1809) is one of the most revered cabinetmakers of Colonial America. He spent his life in Newport, Rhode Island, leaving a uniquely large body of documented work. This handsome and generously illustrated book—the first publication ever devoted to Townsend—looks at the life and legacy of this extraordinary cabinetmaker. The book opens with an overview of Newport and a discussion of other important cabinetmakers, including Job and Christopher Townsend, John’s father and uncle. John worked as an apprentice to his father before establishing his own shop when he was twenty-one. The catalogue section of this volume presents new color reproductions, including details of carving and construction and inscriptions and labels, of all 35 documented pieces by John Townsend. Comparative works by Christopher, Job, Job Jr., and Edmund Townsend as well as by John Goddard, another significant Newport cabinetmaker of the time, are also featured. Other documentation includes: a genealogical chart of the Townsend and Goddard families; wills and inventories of Christopher and John Townsend; a list of Townsend family furniture; names of John Townsend’s clients; and a list of all documented Newport furniture.
◊ Hardcover: 240 pages ◊ ISBN: 030010717X ◊
It may be our smallest state but its presence is unmistakable—rich in history, breathtaking beauty, and famous for its neighborhoods filled with character. With every turned page readers will be treated to Rhode Island’s incredible scenery and have their many questions answered about our thirteenth state. Rhode Island has how many miles of coastline? The breathtaking beauty of Block Island is one of the state’s how many islands? Readers will also learn how Rhode Island native Samuel Slater started the American Industrial Revolution, and what the quahog is.
◊ Reading level: Ages 9-12 ◊ Hardcover: 40 pages ◊ ISBN: 1585361496 ◊
Robert Sabuda is to pop-up art what the International Grandmaster is to chess, and it isn’t for nothing that he’s described on the back of this book as a “paper engineer.” As the title suggests, this whimsical, old-fashioned, elegant book embodies the Traditional Song of Abundant Giving—each verse of “The 12 Days of Christmas” is illustrated with a different pop-up creation. Some are relatively simple, such as the partridge (made of just two pieces of hinged paper) that opens its wings above some pears. Still, there is something unexpectedly bold about how the bird literally flies out over the top margin of the page. Other pop-ups are more characteristically bravura creations: the “Ten Pipers Piping” are crafted explicitly as decorative paper cut-outs, but the scissors that cut them are part of the pop-up, too. Perhaps the most complex of the set is “Eleven Ladies Dancing.” Interpreted as an old-fashioned music box, the 11 ladies dancing are little ballerinas, and the music box is complete with drawer, back-mirror, and winding key. Sabuda’s masterful The 12 Days of Christmas is full of nostalgia for the magic of childhood celebration. (Ages 3 to 103) —Richard Farr
◊ Reading level: Ages 4-8 ◊ Hardcover: 12 pages ◊ ISBN: 0689808658 ◊
The ingenious Robert Sabuda returns for yet another inspired pop-up book that retells Clement Clarke Moore’s classic yuletide rhyme. Sabuda remains a master of the medium, constructing a series of varied and well-engineered scenes: Santa pops in and out of the chimney, beds fold out, a window shade rises and falls, and, in a clever nod to Moore’s not-a-creature-was-stirring text, it’s a family of mice who are receiving Santa’s nighttime visit. A pull-out tab even lets readers interact when Santa’s sleigh glides out on the clouds and over an intricately realized village. It’s hard to pick a favorite scene here, but you can bet that kids will love the book’s pop de résistance, in which Santa’s lead reindeer nearly fly right up your nose (if they don’t knock you out of your chair first). The book’s first-rate production and lively pop-ups are enough to recommend it, but Sabuda goes one better by showing the thoughtful restraint to make most of the pop-ups almost entirely white. A few accents of color catch your eye (Santa’s red suit and silver pipe), but—as befits such a dynamic book—the visual focus stays on the action. (All ages) —Paul Hughes
◊ Reading level: Ages 4-8 ◊ Hardcover: 12 pages ◊ ISBN: 0689838999 ◊
This seasonal, alphabetical pop-up book has become a Christmas favorite. Beneath each lettered flap is an intricate three-dimensional paper cutout of a holiday-related object that starts with the same letter (A for angel, B for bell, C for candle). The cutouts, emerging from colorful squares, are all made of crisp white paper—creating an origami elegance. Yet the paper sculptures are decidedly joyful and unpredictable, like the exploding shreds of paper beside the title “unwrap” under the letter U. Robert Sabuda made his first pop-up book when he was 8 years old, but abandoned the art when he failed to figure out how to make the cyclone twirl in The Wizard of Oz. Apparently, he’s finally mastered the art of motion, since many of the pop-ups feature movements such as flight for the angel, and the tender joining of lips for the kiss of two reindeer. (All ages) —Gail Hudson
◊ Reading level: Ages 4-8 ◊ Hardcover: 16 pages ◊ ISBN: 0439672562 ◊
In Jewish folklore, the town of Chelm is where the foolish folk live. In this engaging picture book, Mendel is the bumbling yet lovable caretaker of the Chelm synagogue. On the first day of Hanukkah, the rabbi tells Mendel to place the menorah on a table by the window so everyone can enjoy its warm glow. Poor Mendel! He takes the menorah off the table in the storage closet and then embarks with his smart-alecky cat on an elaborate, all-day, fumbling, slapstick search... for a table. (“How many Chelmites does it take to move a table?” asks his cat. “One to hold the table and ten to move the earth.”) By nightfall, Mendel accidentally stumbles on the original table from the storage closet, and the menorah candles can shine through the synagogue window after all. Families have been laughing together for hundreds of years over the funny foibles of the Chelmites, and this slightly irreverent holiday book enthusiastically embraces that tradition. (Ages 5 to 9) —Marcie Bovetz
◊ Reading level: Ages 4-8 ◊ Hardcover: 32 pages ◊ ISBN: 0688099521 ◊