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Cover image of The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted
Cover image of The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted
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The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted

The Early Boston Years, 1882–1890

edited by Ethan Carr, Amanda Gagel, and Michael Shapiro

Volume
Volume 8
Publication Date
Binding Type

These papers document the personal and professional life of the foremost landscape architect in American history.

Frederick Law Olmsted relocated from New York to the Boston area in the early 1880s. With the help of his stepson and partner, John Charles Olmsted, his professional office grew to become the first of its kind: a modern landscape architecture practice with park, subdivision, campus, residential, and other landscape design projects throughout the country.

During the period covered in this volume, Olmsted and his partners, apprentices, and staff designed the exceptional park system of...

These papers document the personal and professional life of the foremost landscape architect in American history.

Frederick Law Olmsted relocated from New York to the Boston area in the early 1880s. With the help of his stepson and partner, John Charles Olmsted, his professional office grew to become the first of its kind: a modern landscape architecture practice with park, subdivision, campus, residential, and other landscape design projects throughout the country.

During the period covered in this volume, Olmsted and his partners, apprentices, and staff designed the exceptional park system of Boston and Brookline—including the Back Bay Fens, Franklin Park, and the Muddy River Improvement. Olmsted also designed parks for New York City, Rochester, Buffalo, and Detroit and created his most significant campus plans for Stanford University and the Lawrenceville School. The grounds of the U.S. Capitol were completed with the addition of the grand marble terraces that he designed as the transition to his surrounding landscape.

Many of Olmsted’s most important private commissions belong to these years. He began his work at Biltmore, the vast estate of George Washington Vanderbilt, and designed Rough Point at Newport, Rhode Island, and several other estates for members of the Vanderbilt family. Olmsted wrote more frequently on the subject of landscape design during these years than in any comparable period. He would never provide a definitive treatise or textbook on landscape architecture, but the articles presented in this volume contain some of his most mature and powerful statements on the practice of landscape architecture.

Reviews

Reviews

Like previous volumes, The Early Boston Years is a comprehensive compilation of design proposals, project reports, personal and professional letters, miscellaneous writings, and numerous illustrations — all diligently contextualized by the editors' extensive footnotes... It and the other volumes are absolutely crucial to understanding both the history of American landscape and the extent to which Olmsted helped to shape it.

Olmsted the man belongs to his own time, but his work and words continue to have meaning today... The editors are preserving a life and work instructive for the future as well as the past.

Once again, the editors of the Olmsted Papers have collected a treasure ripe for looting.

A major contribution to American letters, an important step in the documentation of this American genius.

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Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6.125
x
9.25
Pages
856
ISBN
9781421409269
Illustration Description
138 b&w illus.
Table of Contents

Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Editorial Policy
Short Titles Used in Citations
Chapter 1. April 1882-July 1883
Chapter 2. august 1883-September 1884
Chapter 3. September 1884-December 1885
Chapter

Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Editorial Policy
Short Titles Used in Citations
Chapter 1. April 1882-July 1883
Chapter 2. august 1883-September 1884
Chapter 3. September 1884-December 1885
Chapter 4. February 1886-August 1886
Chapter 5. October 1886-June 1887
Chapter 6. June 1887-December 1887
Chapter 7. December 1887-August 1888
Chapter 8. August 1888-February 1889
Chapter 9. February 1889-April 1889
Chapter 10. May 1889-August 1889
Chapter 11. August 1889-March 1890
Appendix 1. Chronology of Frederick Law Olmsted, 1882-1890
Appendix 2. List of Textual Alterations
Index of Plant materials
General Index

Author Bios
Featured Contributor

Frederick Law Olmsted

Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) is considered to be the father of landscape architecture. He was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator.
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