Back of the big house : the architecture of plantation slavery /

Vlach is widely known for his work on various topics concerning African American culture and for studies of southern vernacular architecture. This book focuses on the ancillary structures associated with the southern plantation landscape: kitchens, outbuildings, barns and stables, slave quarters, and other structures that collectively characterize a functioning plantation. Vlach's rationale for this focus is that ancillary structures are too frequently neglected; his central thesis appears to be that the structural order of a plantation reflects more slave influence on the order of the land than one would suspect or that meets the eye. The work relies heavily upon HABS material, though it is supported by extensive endnotes. A bibliography would have made access to sources less taxing. A major shortcoming of the book is the poor quality of reproductin of drawings that form the core of important illustrative material. The single map is of such poor quality as to render it useless.

This important and pioneering study explores the scene behind the plantation houses of the antebellum South where slaves lived and worked. Taking advantage of the extensive collection of drawings and photographs from the Historic American Buildings Survey, Vlach (American studies, George Washington Univ.) vividly depicts the architectural settings of plantation slavery: the yards, smokehouses, slave cabins, barns, stables, kitchens, and other outbuildings that defined the cultural landscape. Oral histories from former slaves recorded during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as period accounts, provide powerful depictions of how African Americans transformed those settings to serve their particular needs. Highly recommended for social and architectural historians alike.-- H. Ward Jandl, National Park Svce., Washington, D.C. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

YA-In the past, much study was devoted to antebellum plantation houses and to the planters who erected them. The slaves upon whom these estates relied have only just begun to receive scholarly attention. Vlach uses interviews with former slaves, photographs, and architectural drawings from the 1930s and `40s to analyze how the black population fit into this environment. The author dispels the Gone with the Wind myth of sterile-white fiefdom and builds an accurate portrayal of plantations as dynamic places that were dominated by the master, yet still influenced by the slaves. This book should fascinate students of American history.- Hugh McAloon, R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Frederick, MD (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.