A 563 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1861, by SAMUEL SLOAN,, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. THE author of this little book is no longer a stranger to the American public. As an old acquaintance, therefore, and a co-laborer in the great work of rural improvement, he again appears before his countrymen. On these grounds he now hopes for a portion of that attention and encouragement which have hitherto been so generously bestowed on his labors. A few explanatory remarks may suffice for a preface. The object of this book is not to furnish specifications or details of construction, but to present a number of designs. in an attractive dress, that may either serve as models to build from, or criterions by which the projector may judge of the relative quality and merits of his intended edifice. Several of the elevations herein appearing have been published in the author's last work, "Homestead Architecture," but are inserted here with such modifications in the corresponding plans, as to make a material difference in their interior development. The others were prepared expressly for this publication, and no small amount of attention has been given to render them worthy of the notice of those whose interest or pleasure may lead them to consult this class of books. It is presumed that few projectors would undertake to execute the larger and more complicated of these designs, without the assistance of a competent architect. Although such may rest assured that every design here given is thoroughly practical, the author feels it incumbent upon him to warn all proprietors from entrusting the execution of any design to the hands of even a tolerably good builder, until it has first been elaborated on a larger scale, and full specifications prepared by the architect. The neglect to do this has sometimes occasioned the loss of thousands, when a few dollars invested in procuring drawings, would have enabled the proprietor to proceed with his building in a safe and satisfactory manner. Hoping this may meet with a reception equally kind with that of its predecessors, the author begs leave to say, that with the continuance of life and health, he will continue to labor in such a manner as shall seem to him best to subserve the interests of American architecture. October 1, 1861. SAMUEL SLOAN, ARCHITECT, 152 SOUTH FOURTH ST., PHILADELPHIA. |