The Historic Houses of Prince Edward Island

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Smith’s work is both an introduction to pre–1914 residential
architecture and a catalogue of Prince Edward Island’s historic homes.

This is Smith’s second book on P.E.I.’s architectural heritage. The
first concentrated on historic churches, and he has plans for a future
volume on historic commercial and public buildings. In the work at hand
Smith traces the evolution of residential architecture on the Island
from wigwam to Victorian mansion. He looks at the influences on form,
construction, and decoration of the Loyalist, British classical, and
Victorian periods. He does this by making his text, photos, and line
drawings work in concert. The result is clarity, variety, and
easy-to-grasp information. Of most interest—perhaps because it is not
readily available in other works—is a section on the evolution of the
Maritime vernacular style of architecture and brief biographies of the
Island’s most prominent architects from the pre-World War I era.

The book is rich with black-and-white and color photographs. To make
manageable the task of portraying the historic homes in an entire
province, Smith created his own criteria. In order to be included, he
ruled that a house had to have been built before 1914, be associated
with a significant historical event or personality, be in good repair,
and be as faithful as possible to its original state. While these
criteria undoubtedly excluded many buildings old-house fans would like
to see included, it strengthens the book in at least two ways: first, by
imposing an editorial cohesiveness; and second, by guaranteeing a visual
standard. As all the houses included are in good repair and free of
blatant modern “improvement” to the exterior, they collectively
present a picture of a province which respects its architectural past
and enjoys the prosperity needed to preserve its picturebook image.