Mantelpieces of the Old South: Lost Architecture and Southern Culture

With these words William Baldwin and Elizabeth Turk lay the foundation for a stunning visual journey into the Southern home. The images found within these pages tell as much about the definition of home as they do about certain aspects of design.

Taken from the Historic American Buildings Survey or HABS collection–which began as Depression-era works program–these images document the grace and unique nature of the Southern home. While some of the images show the grandeur of the old plantation house, others reveal a much simpler side of Southern living. And while there are always elements that are distinctive to each home there is an ever-present theme that reminds the reader that home is not just a structure, but also a reflection of our dreams. Compiled from over seventy years of HABS images, this arrangement is a matchless illustrated history of Southern architecture and design. Whether a stately mansion or a decaying rural farmhouse, the images within are a visual essay into the true nature and being of the South and Southern home.