Cottage Residences;: or a Series of Designs for Rural Cottages and Cottage-Villas, and Their Gardens and Grounds. Adapted to North America

New York and London: Wiley and Putnam, 1842. First edition. 8vo. 11 engraved plates (1 in color) and 69 illustrations to text. [4, ads], [iv], 187, [1], [4, ads] pp. Publisher's plum cloth, stamped in blind and gilt; spine faded, endpapers discolored, previous owner's signature to ffep First edition of Downing's influential second book, which presents 10 designs for cottages ("ornamental farm," "English rural gothic," "Italian," "old English," etc.), with elevation, floor plans, illustrations of construction details, estimate of cost, and a suggested layout of the grounds and gardens. It is "arguably the first of the new genre of house pattern books, which depicted the home in its landscaped setting, plans of the grounds, and ornamental details, along with an explanatory text to assist the reader in choosing a residence appropriate to his or her circumstances. Unlike the larger houses Downing used to illustrate in the Treatise, most of the designs in Cottage Residences were smaller and more appropriate to an emerging middle class" (ANB). The colored plate at p. 22 gives suitable exterior colors (shades of gray and "drab or fawn") — Downing is adamant that houses not be painted white. "A hearty desire to contribute something to the improvement of the domestic architecture and the rural taste of our country, has been the motive which has influenced me in preparing this little volume."REFERENCE: Hitchcock 334