Architects and Their Books in the United States to 1845:
A Symposium Marking the 200th Anniversary of the Publication of
The Country Builder's Assistant by Asher Benjamin

The Office of Academic Programs at Historic Deerfield, Inc., and the
Grace Slack McNeil Program in the History of American Art at Wellesley
College announce their annual Deerfield/Wellesley Symposium on American
Cultural History.  The topic of the 1997 symposium will be "Architects
and Their Books in the United States to 1845."  It will be held November
7-8, 1997 at the White Church Community Center in Deerfield, Massachusetts.

Registration for the two-day event is $60, with a special student rate of
$25.

Twelve speakers will explore various issues pertaining to the
significance of the book in early American architecture: the role of
books, both European and American, in the training of American architects
and builders; the role of book knowledge in the creation of a
professional identity for architects; the impact of personal and public
library collections on architectural practice; early architectural
publications in New England, New York, and Philadelphia; and the
publication of the first history of Architecture written by an American.
Speakers will include Abbott Lowell Cummings, Charles Montgomery
Professor of American Decorative Arts Emeritus, Yale University; Robert
F. Dalzell, Jr., Ephraim Williams Professor of American History, Williams
College; Damie Stillman, John W. Shirley Professor of Art History,
University of Delaware; and Richard Guy Wilson, Professor of
Architectural History, University of Virginia.

Conference organizers are Kenneth Hafertepe, Director of Academic
Programs at Historic Deerfield, and James F. O'Gorman, the Grace Slack
McNeil Professor of the History of American Art at Wellesley College.

For further information, contact Nancy Bell at 413-774-5581, or Ken
Hafertepe at [log in to unmask]

Schedule of events:

Friday, November 7

9:15    Welcome. Donald R. Friary, Executive Director, Historic
Deerfield, Inc.

Chair:  Kenneth Hafertepe, Director of Academic Programs, Historic
Deerfield, Inc.

One: New England

9:45    Abbott Lowell Cummings, Charles Montgomery Professor of American
Decorative Arts Emeritus, Yale University.
"The Availability of Pattern Books in 18th Century New England as
Revealed by Documents of Use and the Autographed Books Themselves."

10:30   Charles B. Wood III, Antiquarian Bookseller, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
"The Making of Early American Architectural Books."

11:15   Break

11:30   Kenneth Hafertepe, Director of Academic Programs, Historic
Deerfield, Inc.
"Asher Benjamin and The Country Builder's Assistant: Text and Context."

12:15   Discussion.

12:30   Lunch.

During the lunch break Stephen Jerome, curator of the Brookline
Historical Society, will make an informal presentation on the Boston
architect Richard Bond and his library.  Mr. Jerome recently discovered
that Bond's library had been donated to Amherst College and remains
virtually intact.  Representative works from Bond's collection will be on
display in the Memorial Libraries.

Registrants may also view the exterior of Memorial Hall, the original
Deerfield Academy building (1798-99) by  Asher Benjamin.

Two: Virginia and the Chesapeake

2:30    Bennie Brown, Jr., independent consultant, Woodbridge, Virginia.
"Architectural Books in the Chesapeake Region Before the Revolution."

3:15    Robert F. Dalzell, Jr., Ephraim Williams Professor of American
History, Williams College.
"George Washington: The Gentleman and His Books."

4:00    Break.

4:15    Richard Guy Wilson, Professor of Architectural History,
University of Virginia.
"Thomas Jefferson and His Books."

5:00    Discussion.

Saturday, November 8

Chair: James F. O'Gorman, Grace Slack McNeil Professor of the History of
American Art and Chair of the Department of Art, Wellesley College.

Three: People

9:15    Introductory Remarks

9:30    Jeffrey A. Cohen, Bryn Mawr College.
"Books owned by Benjamin Henry Latrobe and His Protégés."

10:15   Martha J. McNamara, Assistant Professor of History, University of Maine
"Defining the Profession: Books, Libraries, and Architects."

11:00   Break.

11:15   Sarah Allaback, independent scholar, Poughkeepsie, New York.
"Louisa Tuthill, Ithiel Town, and the Beginnings of Architectural History
in America."

12:00   Discussion.

12:30   Lunch.  Registrants may visit the First Church of Deerfield
(1824), and tour the Asa Stebbins House (1799), both influenced by
Benjamin.


Four: Cities

2:30    James F. O'Gorman, Grace Slack McNeil Professor of the History of
American Art , Wellesley College.
"Boston: Bulfinch, Buildings, and Books."

3:15    Michael J. Lewis, Assistant Professor of Art, Williams College.
"The Philadelphia Architectural Book of the Early 19th Century: From Owen
Biddle to T.U. Walter."

4:00    Break.

4:15    Damie Stillman, Professor of Art History, University of Delaware.
"Architectural Books in New York: From McComb to Lafever."

5:00    Discussion.