Caribbean Houses: History, Style, and Architecture
Product Description
Caribbean Houses is a lavishly illustrated account of the development of historically significant houses in the West Indies. Author Michael Connors, a West Indian decorative arts scholar, examines venerable houses that remain as a testimony to the rich history and vibrant lifestyle that was, and continues to be, an important part of Caribbean culture. The book is divided into five chapters, one for each European heritage: the Spanish Antilles, the Dutch Leewards, the English Islands, the French Lesser Antilles, and the Danish Virgin Islands. An authoritative text sheds light on the area’s rich architectural and interior design history and gives the reader a unique view of houses that combine the tradition of European styles with the vernacular island forms and decorative motifs. The lavish new photography captures the stunning exteriors and provides a rare look into the interiors of these historic houses, with exotic tropical hardwoods, indigenous stone,… More >> Caribbean Houses: History, Style, and Architecture
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Coming back from a dream Caribean cruise I found a book review about the History, Style and Architecture of Caribean Houses. Architecture and Design are my favourite subjects and also the favourite subjects of my friend who came with me on this trip. It is meant to be his birthday present in June. I have to be very disciplined not to give it to him now. But gee, I can’t wait to see his face when I will give it to him!
Marianne Rating: 5 / 5
June 3rd, 2010 at 1:11 pm
As with “Cuban Elegance” and “French Islands”, Dr. Michael Connors has done an exhaustive job in writing on these houses, some of them abandoned and ignored by their own countries for years. Aside from the text abundant details and the exquisite photos, the fact remains that he has become, undoubtedly, the primary source for a field US art historians have never payed any attention to. Dr. Connors’ opus is invaluable to Caribbean art and antiques collectors. Rating: 5 / 5
June 3rd, 2010 at 1:58 pm
They came across the Atlantic for the silver and gold, the exotic hardwoods, the cotton and tobacco, the salt deposits and fish, the lively slave trade and the vast riches from growing sugar cane; the Spaniards, the Dutch, the English, the French, the Danes, all jockeying for position among the 30-plus islands in the Caribbean, starting in the late sixteenth century. With their new wealth, they built vast plantations with “great houses,” also called “palacios” (Spanish) and “landhuizen” (Dutch), grand homes that represented amalgamations of styles from their mother countries, designs that were adapted to utilize local building materials and protect their inhabitants from all manners of catastrophes in the new environment – the wicked hurricanes, the relentless sun and heat, the fires and the slave rebellions. But time and history marched forward, and today, most of these colonial-era mansions stand in tatters. Writes Michael Connors in the preface to his latest book, “Caribbean Houses: History, Style, and Architecture,” “Their fall from grace has been gradual, as evidenced by a visitor to the islands in the late nineteenth century who wrote: ‘Most of the mansions of the planters exhibit fast-increasing signs of poverty, neglect, and decay; and upon more than two-thirds of the estates the great house stands deserted and empty, sometimes falling into ruin, a melancholy monument of former luxury and life, when four-in-hands were frequent upon the roads and there were sounds of revelry in the hospitable halls.” Few precious relics survived, and it is to document them that Connors set out to do in a study that the scholar calls “the first comprehensive account of the development of historically significant architecture in the West Indies.” The lavish result, all illustrated with gorgeous photographs, does a wonderful job of describing the history, the people, and the forces that defined this bygone era, and helps to preserve for all time their legacy.
Rating: 5 / 5
June 3rd, 2010 at 3:33 pm
If you have read other books by Dr. Connors, this one will not disappoint you. It is not only a beautiful book of photographs but it is also conclusively written about Caribbean grand townhouses and great plantation houses during the colonial era. The history, style and architecture of the West Indies, which was influenced by the French, Spanish, English, Dutch and Danish islands is fascinating.
Dr. Connors has done a terrific job researching the properties, many of which have deteriorated due to neglect and absentee owners over time.
You will definitely have a new appreciation for the colonial era and the importance of maintaining the remaining structures for future generations to view and learn more about.
The photography is fabulous!
Rating: 5 / 5
June 3rd, 2010 at 3:49 pm
I have all of Michael Connors Caribbean Books. This one is fabulous! The historical accounts, photographs and attention to detail are superb. Some years ago I met the very interesting Michael Connors in NYC at his antique store; he was receptive to intelligent inquiry, yet impatient with the mundane, and rightly so. Rating: 5 / 5