Roderic Blackburn has been engaged in research
and writing on the history, architecture, and arts of New York
State for over 30 years. Dozens of magazine articles and several
books relate to living in the upper Hudson River Valley and are
especially useful to those who have or will purchase a home
here. Here are vignettes from these publications selected for
those interested in our region. Also see (above) The Real
Estate Reports for Rod Blackburn's monthly column on the
real estate market and advice on buying, fixing, and selling
properties.
*
A Visible Heritage, Columbia County, New
York: A History in Art and Architecture. Ruth Piwonka and
Roderic H. Blackburn. The Columbia County Historical Society.
3rd printing. An extensively illustrated book showing many of
the fine period houses of the county as well as its arts,
17th-19th centuries, letting pictures tell the story of the
county's history.http://www.blackdomepress.com/books/heritage.html VH
*
Dutch Colonial Homes in America.
Roderic H. Blackburn; Geoffrey Gross, photographer (Rizzoli
2002). Wonderful color photos of so many early houses, barns and
other structures of New York and New Jersey. The text gives the
reader the tools to "read" early houses; how they were
built, altered and added to so as to accommodate human needs and
practical necessities.
* Great Houses of New
England. Roderic H. Blackburn; Geoffrey Gross,
photographer (Rizzoli 2008). A score of the finest houses of New
England, lavishly photographed and described in the context of
their historical style, the personality which built them and
what has happened to them. Famous mansions and rediscovered
masterpieces from 1715 to 1930 cover import styles,
architects and eccentrics too.
* Early New England
Houses. Roderic H. Blackburn; Geoffrey Gross,
photographer (Rizzoli 2009, forthcoming). The earliest houses in
New England (1640 and on) grew out of an English post-medieval
vernacular type brought to this region by Puritan refugees from
the religious intolerance of the Church of England and King
Charles I. This is a story of not just architecture, but of a
style of life, a deeply held faith, and the beginnings of
democratic institutions in America.
*
Remembrance of Patria, Dutch Arts and
Culture in Colonial America, 1609-1776. Roderic H. Blackburn
and Ruth Piwonka. Albany Institute of History and Art (1988). A
comprehensive look at life, art, architecture and artifacts of
living in Dutch America in the colonial period. Based on a
major exhibition.
These and other publications are available from
R. H. Blackburn & Associates Real Estate, just contact us by
phone (518 758-1788) or email (blackburn@berk.com)
