File:The Americanization of Edward Bok - the autobiography of a Dutch boy fifty years after (1921) (14566553159).jpg

Identifier: americanizationo00boke (find matches)
Title: The Americanization of Edward Bok : the autobiography of a Dutch boy fifty years after
Year: 1921 (1920s)
Authors: Bok, Edward William, 1863-1930
Subjects: Bok, Edward William, 1863-1930 Editors -- United States
Publisher: New York : Scribner
Contributing Library: New York Public Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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selected the best of these,awarded the prizes, and began the presentation of thehouses actually built after the published plans. Of course this publication gave fresh impetus to thewhole scheme; prospective house-builders pointed theirbuilders to the proof given, and additional thousands ofsets of plans were sold. The little houses became betterand better in architecture as the series went on, and oc-casionally a plan for a house costing as high as ten thou-sand dollars was given. For nearly twenty-five years Bok continued to pub-lish pictures of houses and plans. Entire colonies ofLadies Home Journal houses have sprung up, andbuilding promoters have built complete suburban de-velopments with them. How many of these homes havebeen erected it is, of course, impossible to say; the num-ber certainly runs into the thousands. It was one of the most constructive and far-reachingpieces of work that Bok did during his editorial career—a fact now recognized by all architects. Shortly before
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A SIGNAL PIECE OF CONSTRUCTIVE WORK 243 Stanford White passed away, he wrote: I firmly be-lieve that Edward Bok has more completely influencedAmerican domestic architecture for the better than anyman in this generation. When he began, I was short-sighted enough to discourage him, and refused to co-operate with him. If Bok came to me now, I would notonly make plans for him, but I would waive any fee forthem in retribution for my early mistake. Bok then turned to the subject of the garden for thesmall house, and the development of the grounds aroundthe homes which he had been instrumental in putting onthe earth. He encountered no opposition here. Thepublication of small gardens for small houses finally raninto hundreds of pages, the magazine supplying plantingplans and full directions as to when and how to plant—this time without cost. Next the editor decided to see what he could do forthe better and simpler furnishing of the small Americanhome. Here was a field almost limitless in po

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