For more information about the social and architectural history of the Newport Mansions, The Preservation Society of Newport County suggests the following readings. Please note that some of the books may be out of print, but many are available through your local library. Please consult your local librarian.

History

Balsan, Consuelo Vanderbilt. The Glitter and The Gold. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1952. 

Bourget, Paul. Outre-Mer: Impressions of America. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1895.

Croffut, William A. The Leisure Class in America, The Vanderbilts and the Story of Their Fortune. New York: Arno Press, 1975.

Elliott, Maude Howe. This Was My Newport. Cambridge: The Mythology Company, 1944.

Patterson, Jerry. The Vanderbilts. New York: Harry Abrams Inc., 1989.

Vanderbilt, Cornelius, Jr. Queen of The Golden Age. England: George Mann of Maidstone, 1956.

Van Rensselaer, Mr. John King. Newport: Our Social Capital. New York: Arno Press, 1975.

Wector, Dixon. The Saga of American Society, A Record of Social Aspiration, 1607-1937. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1937.

Architecture, Design & the Decorative Arts

Ames, Winslow. "The Transformation of Chateau-sur-Mer." Journal of The Society of Architectural Historians, XXIX, 1970.

Baker, Paul. Richard Morris Hunt. Cambridge: 1980.

Carpenter, Ralph. The Arts and Crafts of Newport, 1640-1820. Newport: the Preservation Society of Newport County, 1954.

Downing, Andrew Jackson. The Architecture of Country Houses. New York: Dover Publications, 1969.

Downing, Antoinette F. and Scully, Vincent J. Jr. The Architectural Heritage of Newport, RI, 1640-1915. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1952.

Jordy, William and Monkhouse, Christopher P. with Contributors. Buildings on Paper, Rhode Island Architectural Drawings, 1825-1945. Providence: Brown University, Rhode Island Historical Society and Rhode Island School of Design, 1982.

Metcalf, Pauline C. Ogden Codman and the Decoration of Houses. Boston: The Boston Athenaeum, 1988.

"Newport: The Collections of The Preservation Society of Newport County, in Newport, Rhode Island." The Magazine Antiques. (April 1995).

Phelps, Harriet Jackson. Newport in Flower. Newport: The Preservation Society of Newport County, 1979.

Pierson, William Jr. Technology and the Picturesque: The Corporate and Early Gothic Styles. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books Doubleday, 1976.

Roth Leland. McKim, Mead and White, Architects. New York: Harper and Row, 1983.

Scully, Vincent J. The Shingle Style and the Stick Style. Rev.ed., New Haven: Yale University Press, 1971.

Stein, Susan R., ed. The Architecture of Richard Morris Hunt. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986.

Wharton, Edith and Codman, Ogden. The Decoration of Houses. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1978.

White, Lawrence Grant. Sketches and Designs of Stanford White. New York: The Architectural Publishing Co., 1920.

Wilson, Richard Guy, Pilgrim, Diane H. and Murray, Richard N. The American Renaissance, 1876-1917. New York: Pantheon Books, 1979.

Wilson, Richard Guy. McKim, Mead and White, Architects. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1983.

Preservation Resources

Barthel, Diane.  Historic Preservation, Rutgers University Press, 1996.
     (Philosophical thoughts on preservation)

Lindgren, James M.  Preserving Historic New England, Oxford University
     Press, 1995.  (How the preservation movement began in the 20^th century, centered on the early 
     years of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA))

Nylander, Jane.  Windows on the Past, Little, Brown & Co., 2000.
     (A view of SPNEA buildings and properties covering four centuries)

Brand, Stuart.  How Buildings Learn, Penguin Books, 1994.
     (A practical and philosophic approach to buildings - interesting concepts)

Nash, George.  Restoring Old Houses, Taunton Press, 1998.
     (What to look for, how to fix it...)

Whelehel, Harriet, ed.  Caring for your Historic House, Harry Abrams, Inc.,
     1998.   (Hardbound, what to look for, what to do, and why)

Bullock, Orin M.  The Restoration Manual,  Silvermine Publishers, 1966.
     (Out of print.  One of the early guides to the restoration process, still relevant)

Hoadley, R. Bruce.  Identifying Wood, Taunton Press, 1990.
     (Excellent introduction to the identification of the common American and foreign
     woods)

Millar, William.  Plastering: Plain and Decorative, B.T. Batsford, 1897;
      reprinted, Donhead Publishing, Ltd.,2001.
      (Profoundly comprehensive description for the plasterer's trade)