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Bok, Edward William, 1863-1930

"A Dutch Boy Fifty Years After"


Bok turned to _The Ladies' Home Journal_ as his medium for making the
small-house architecture of America better. He realized the limitation
of space, but decided to do the best he could under the circumstances.
He believed he might serve thousands of his readers if he could make it
possible for them to secure, at moderate cost, plans for well-designed
houses by the leading domestic architects in the country. He consulted
a number of architects, only to find them unalterably opposed to the
idea. They disliked the publicity of magazine presentation; prices
differed too much in various parts of the country; and they did not
care to risk the criticism of their contemporaries. It was
"cheapening" their profession!
Bok saw that he should have to blaze the way and demonstrate the
futility of these arguments. At last he persuaded one architect to
co-operate with him, and in 1895 began the publication of a series of
houses which could be built, approximately, for from one thousand five
hundred dollars to five thousand dollars.


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