South Carolina Historic Homes And Gardens

Southern plantations are an endless source of fascination. That’s no surprise since these palatial homes are rich in history, representing a pivotal time in U.S. history that truly is “gone with the wind.” With the Civil War literally exploding all around, many of these homes were occupied either by Confederate or Union troops. Today, there are more than thirty plantations open to the public in South Carolina. Plantations and Historic Homes of South Carolina takes the reader on the tours and talks to the guides to dig even further if there is more to discover. If only the walls could talk, the stories we might hear!

In this elegant hardbound volume, photographers Steve Gross and Susan Daley take you on an intimate tour of some of the finest historic homes, gardens, churches, and plantations of the old city of Charleston and its surrounding Lowcountry. Their luminescent photographs reveal an insider's look at the definitive architecture and landscape of the region, ranging from private gardens hidden behind wrought iron gates to some of America's first landscaped garden vistas. From colonial-era French Quarter homes to Federal and Greek Revival townhouses and antebellum plantation houses, the selection featuring old family, private homes to museum showplaces make this an essential book for visitors, architects, preservationists or armchair travelers. Photographers Steve Gross and Susan Daley specialize in photographing interiors and the architecture of the changing American landscape. They are the coauthors of ten previous books on the various styles of American homes and design, including Creole Houses, Old Florida, and most recently Farmhouse Revival and The Creative Cottage. Their work has been published extensively in magazines around the world and is in private collections including the Smithsonian Institution

The plantations and historic homes of South Carolina, one of the richest states for plantations, draw millions of visitors each year. In this stunning memento and coffee-table book, thirty-four of the state's most famous homes are covered in loving detail and full-color photos - including each home's exteriors and grounds, gardens and interiors, profiles of their famous families, and more. In addition, sites with slave quarters are highlighted for their historical importance. This book makes the perfect collectible souvenir for anyone who has traveled to South Carolina and toured these beautiful homes.

Excerpt from Historic Houses of South Carolina SO interwoven are social life, agricultural interests, industrial evolution with commercial interests, that it is said The lady of a Southern planter will lay out the whole annual produce of a rice plantation in silver and gold, muslins, lace veils and new liveries, carry a hogshead of tobacco on her head and trail a bale of sea-island cotton at her heels, while a lady of Boston or Salem, will wrap herself up in the net proceeds of a cargo of whale Oil, and tie on her hat with a quintal of cod-fish. Thus it is that the beautiful old houses in South Carolina grew as the external expression of a certain ease, grace and dignity of life led by the landed gentry. Near the coast the spacious verandas came in response to the need for coolness, and shadowy retreats from the brilliant sunshine of this sub-tropical climate, tall ceilings, large win dows, and lattice jalousie blinds were borrowed from the neighboring Spanish Indies, while formal gardens and gate ways came over in the inner consciousness of the Cavalier stock that settled low country Carolina and found expression in manner fitting the locality. Although the first settlers had confined themselves to the neighborhood of Charleston, the fact that Georgia was being settled (1732-34) protected the Western frontier of the State and gave a feeling of security hitherto unknown, so that the interior Of the State received many immigrants. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

"In addition, Cothran provides profiles of prominent gardeners, horticulturists, nurserymen, and writers who, in the decades preceding the American Civil War, were instrumental in shaping the horticultural and gardening legacy of the South."--BOOK JACKET.