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Vintage 1955 Sticks & Stones Lewis Mumford Dover Red PB USA Architecture Design
Brand/Publisher: Dover Publications trade paperback edition of Sticks & Stones: a study of American architecture and civilization by Lewis Mumford, issued in English in 1955 in the United States as the second revised edition of his influential history of American building.
Title and subject: Landmark nonfiction study in which Mumford examines how American architecture expresses the development of the nation\'s civilization, from colonial farmhouses and New England villages through nineteenth‑century industrial cities, bridges, civic monuments, and the emergence of modern urban planning.
Format and design: Perfect‑bound paperback in red, cream, and black pictorial wrappers featuring architectural drawings and photographs on the front and back. Interior is printed in black ink on cream stock in a readable serif typeface, illustrated with black‑and‑white photographs and plates, including examples such as a plan of Central Park by Olmsted and Vaux. Publisher information on the back cover notes approximate size 5½ x 8 inches, 266 pages, and 21 photographs; described as paperbound.
Structure and contents: Opens with epigraphs on architecture and civilization and a new preface dated 1954 in which Mumford situates this edition thirty years after the book\'s original 1924 publication. Subsequent chapters trace themes such as the medieval tradition, the heritage of the Renaissance, the imperial façade, and architecture and civilizations, combining historical narrative with critical commentary on vernacular building, landscape design, and the relationship between individual structures and their settings.
Publication details and audience: Copyright page credits the original 1924 edition to Boni and Liveright and the second revised edition copyright 1955 to Dover Publications, with manufacture in the United States of America. Intended for adult readers interested in architecture, American civilization, urban planning, and cultural history, including architects, planners, historians, and collectors of vintage Dover architectural studies.
Condition: Card covers show moderate surface rubbing, scattered small stains, and edge and corner wear, with noticeable darkening and soiling along the spine and outer margins. Spine shows rubbing at the ends but remains intact. Page edges are uniformly age‑toned with a few small spots. Previous owner\'s name is written in ink along the inner margin of the title page, and several pages contain underlining, brackets, and margin notes in pen. A short tear is present at the top of the inner front hinge, yet the binding remains secure and pages turn as a unit. Listing includes this 1955 Dover trade paperback only; no supplemental materials are included.
