Architectural pattern books

First popularised in the 18th century, architectural pattern books were created to share architectural styles and knowledge and offered a variety of models to inspire architects, builders and the general populace. Each pattern book typically featured illustrations of a variety of buildings, accompanying floor plans and a description of the advantages of each model.

There were pattern books for all sizes of homes, from mansions to humble cottages, and featuring both tried and untried designs. The first two to arrive in Sydney were brought out in the luggage of Elizabeth Macquarie, the wife of the governor of NSW. Both books were authored by architect and surveyor Edward Gyfford and published in London.

The earlier pattern books in the collection were published in England, but from the middle of the 19th century, pattern books also came from France, Scotland and the United States of America. Many of these books had a global reach, and Australians were keenly interested in the latest architectural ideas.

Australian pattern books appeared at the end of the 19th century and were published by a range of players, including architects, banks, building societies, department stores and home magazines. And some trade catalogues aimed at the building trades looked like architectural pattern books – Sydney timber and joinery merchants like Goodlet & Smith and Saxton & Binns illustrated complete houses that could be purchased off the page.

After World War II, Australia’s extreme shortage of houses, building materials and labour spawned a new interest in pattern books, often titled ‘home plans’. Many of these booklets featured simple plans for the amateur home builder, while others were more sophisticated, introducing elements of modernism to the Australian suburbs. The 1960s marked the dawn of the project home builder, mostly large building companies like Lend Lease and AV Jennings. These firms offered pre-designed homes for people to physically inspect, although the display homes also came with accompanying booklets that resembled architectural pattern books.