House Design Competitions - Book 11
The Detroit Free Press Better Homes Competition - 1928
Plan Book of Architectural Drawings
  
Published by Wilkerson & Hughes, LLC - PO Box 777 - Altoona, FL 32702
48 
Drawings - 56 Pages total
  Wire Bound Cover Stock Card covers with 24 lb Natural Cream pages
  Printed at 1200 dpi on a Commercial Digital Lithographic Printer
  Very high D-Max black line density to equal original ink drawings
  8.5" wide x 11" high
  Weight - 6 ounces

ISBN 978-1-926517-82-7

This book contains the contents of a reprint of The Detroit Free Press newspaper Better Homes Competition of 19128. A Competition for a house to be built to cost $10,000 to $13,750. This competition was sponsored by the Detroit Free Press newspaper to promote "Small House" design in an era when housing prices depressed housing construction starts. These houses look larger than what you would guess. The houses shown are less than 2,000 square feet. The architects who entered were the best in the entire United States community because of the very high prize awards offered. These designs represent  Prairie Style, Colonial, French, English, and Modern designs from architects trained during the Golden Age of architectural studio apprenticeships. These homes could be built today. 

These competitions required 1 pen and ink drawing on Bristol Board from each architect so they could be reproduced on a copper plate rotogravure printing press for maximum quality equal to lithographs. These reproductions are not cheap half-tone reprints, but full density ink drawings. The entries show a beautiful perspective drawing, and floor plans. 

The book pages contain razor sharp, high resolution black line drawings on natural cream paper.  Many drawings are beautiful enough to frame as artwork. These drawings are some of the very best architectural ink drawings ever performed.

The original version of this book is among the rarest of all books on earth. The originals were paper bound and crumbled over the past century due to acid in the paper. There is only 1 copy in our publishing office. No libraries worldwide have a copy. Our company has been digitizing all of the House Design Competitions of the early period of the 20th century up to the Depression when most of the Golden Age architects ceased production and retired. We have the largest collection of any library and can now produce them for the public who are interested in great architecture. There will be 19 editions from our library collection. Please enjoy some of the best house designs never built.

Books are shipped First Class USPS in a padded envelope.

Larger quantities of this book are available to order. Send a messaging email through E-Bay and we can set up an order and wholesale price for larger quantities. 

This book was issued on November 26, 2015.