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California's Kit Homes: A Reprint of the 1925 Pacific Ready-Cut Homes Catalog |
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Author: |
Rosemary
Thornton |
| Publisher: |
Gentle Beam Publications |
| Format: |
184 pages; format 8.5" by 11"
paperback. Photos and floor plans of more than 100 housing styles offered in
1925; reprint of a 1925 catalog |
| ISBN: |
0971558833 |
| Buy
it: |
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From the
Authors:
"In the six years
I’ve spent studying and researching kit homes, I’ve found that many people who
think they have a Sears home are mistaken -- somewhat. Most of these folks do
have a kit home, but it’s not a Sears kit home…
"In addition to
Sears, there were five national companies selling kit homes through mail order.
Then there were regional companies,
like Pacific Ready-Cut Homes.
Probably one of the larger regional companies,
Pacific Homes sold about 40,000 kit homes
during their 32 years in business (1908 – 1940). By comparison, Sears (the
largest of the national companies), sold 75,000 kit homes during the same time
frame, but in all 48 states.
"It frustrates me
that so few people have even heard of Pacific Ready Cut Homes, even as these
architectural treasures are being destroyed.
"In researching kit
homes, I’ve found that more often than not, people living in Sears kit homes do
not realize they have a kit home. And Sears is by far the most
recognizable of the kit home companies. Far fewer people have even heard of
Pacific Homes, much less realize that they live in one.
"My lofty goal is
to make folks aware of this very significant chapter of California's
architectural history. In order to preserve and protect these
historically-significant homes, they must first be found and identified. And the
only way to do that is to increase awareness of this Los Angeles-based kit home
company." -- Rose Thornton.
"Rose had an especially interesting experience in a
small city in Virginia, where she was burned in effigy after informing the local
historians that 36 or their 44 Sears kit homes weren't really Sears kit homes.
Oopise. All that grief and trouble could have been avoided if the original
researchers had authenticated their purported Sears Homes." -- Dale Patrick
Wolicki
From the
Back
Cover:
"Between 1908 and 1940, Pacific Ready-Cut
Homes sold about 37,000 kit homes throughout California and
neighboring states. This high quality reprint of a 160-page 1925
catalog contains a plethora of historical information about this
Los Angeles-based company."
About the Authors
Rosemary Thornton
Since the publication of Rose's first book on kit homes (The
Houses That Sears Built, Gentle Beam Publications, 2002),
she has appeared on PBS's History Detectives, CBS's
Sunday Morning News, A & E's Biography and WGN News.
In addition, Rose and her book have been featured in the
Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times,
L.A. Times, Dallas Morning News, The Washington
Post, Old House Journal, and about 100 other
publications. Her other titles include the revision of The
Houses that Sears Built (Gentle Beam Publications, 2004),
and Finding The Houses That Sears Built (Gentle Beam
Publications, 2004). In the last two years, Rose has traveled
throughout the country and given more than 200 lectures on her
favorite topic: Kit Homes. In addition to researching, writing
and lecturing on kit homes, Rose is also a contributing editor
at The Old House Web (www.oldhouseweb.com)
Dale Patrick Wolicki
A noted authority on mail-order homes from Bay City
companies, Aladdin, Lewis-Liberty and Sterling), Dale is a
volunteer with the Bay County Historical Society (Bay City,
Michigan), promoting the preservation of local sites and
structures as architectural historian. He received his Bachelors
of Architecture from Lawrence Technological University in
Southfield, Michigan. Author of The Historic Architecture of
Bay City, Michigan, his work has been featured in numerous
books and magazines. Having worked on the restoration of the
Wright-designed Affleck House in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan,
Dale's other architectural interests include the buildings of
Frank Lloyd Wright. Although he will occasionally design a house
for friends, Dale spends much of his time coordinating zoning
and development projects for clients of his consulting group,
Ikcilow, Inc. In his spare time, Dale is in the process of
restoring his own home, a 1928 Arts & Crafts bungalow.
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