Interesting article about the Austin Motor Co. purchase of 200 Aladdin "Chesters" erected in England. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/history/conferences/neale-comm2005/Moskowitz.doc This was particularly interesting,"Under William Sovereign's guidance, the North American Construction Company(later known as Aladdin after the fable of the genie who built a new palace overnight)" NOTE: If you click on the above link you will download the article.
Description from the catalog: Brown shingles trimmed with white distinguish this little home from the ordinary looking cottages found in most communities. The Chester is a trim, neat, compact and pretty bungalow. Its five rooms are nicely arranged, its porch roomy and every room is well lighted. Not the spacious, airy living room that stretches the full width of the house and gives a view in both directions as well as in front. Arch separates dining room while two bed rooms and kitchen complete the home. You are privileged to choose any colors of paint and stain for shingles and trimming for the exterior, and you can have the most modern ideas worked out in your interior decorations with the wide variety of stains, varnishes and paints illustrated on our color cards. Most owners of the Chester write us about the pleasure they derived from erecting and completing it themselves. You can do this easily. “The Aladdin house is a rich man’s house, but is in reach of every working man. I saved about $500 on my bungalow.” – L. L. Huyck.
I don't know if you have heard of George F.Barber of Knoxville,Tn,but I have a reprint of his book,The Cottage Souviner No.2 While as far as we know he didn't make kit houses,in the book he mentions that many of his designs were built in the US and overseas. I need to find the book and look for the exact info in order to post it.
Hilda is correct that George W Barber never offered pre-cut kits homes.I spent a week in Knoxville researching Barber and there is no evidence that his homes were ever offered as pre-cut or package building kits. At the rear of most Barber Plan books are advertisements for building materials such as millwork, fireplace inserts, flooring and paint, so it was not unreasonable for someone to mistake his designs as kit homes.
Hello, I'm new to the forum & this looked like a good place to jump in. My husband & I believe our home is Aladdin's Richmond model (1916). The info provided on the Antique Home link corresponds almost exactly to our house, and the floor plan is identical, right down to the placement of upstairs bedrooms. The house was originally a 5 bedroom, but 2 of the rooms were opened up & made larger, so we are now a 3 bedroom. My first question, before posting photos, etc.--Did Aladdin sell these homes in New York (specifically in the Hudson Valley)? Our home is close to the old O & W Railway station, so shipping kit homes to this area was certainly easy enough. When we bought the house, the owners' daughter told us she believed the house was a Sears home, but I found nothing resembling it. Did Sears make a model like Aladdin's Richmond? Next question, what specific details am I looking for to help ID the house & where will I find them. There has been little remodeling from what we can tell, with the exception of the bedroom changes (which unfortunately included the addition of a drop ceiling in the master bedroom)and the closing in of a small back porch. Where can I find full photos of all angles of the house? Thanks for your help!
Aladdin and several of the other kit home manufacturers had a national marketing reach so it's more than likely that they made their way to the Hudson River Valley.
That said, you might want to read through Rose Thornton's article about identifying Sears homes. The process is much the same for many of the other manufacturers. It will give you a few pointers for what to look for.
If you've been looking through the house plans on Antique Home you've probably noticed that there are many similarities among the houses from one manufacturer to the next. There was a great deal of cross-pollination among the companies with respect to designs.
As far as finding full photos of all angles of the house, unless you can find a version of the Richmond that someone has identified and photographed, you may be out of luck. We can get you better measurements of the dimensions of the Richmond. If they are spot on with your measurements, you'll could be a step closer to identifying the origins of your home.
Thank you, Rikki, that helps. I have looked at the site for ID'ing Sears homes. If this is an Aladdin home, would I be looking for different letters stamped on the lumber? Any idea what they would be? Also, if anyone out there has identified/photographed a Richmond house from the sides or the back, I would love to see photos. To the right of our front steps is a walkway that leads to the back entrance. As I noted, whatever used to be a back porch was enclosed. It is now a 1/2 bath & laundry room. The entryway has the original ceiling, but the bathroom looks newer, although the ceiling is lower so the original woodwork could be underneath there. I'm most curious about the original kitchen layout, to see what has been retained (the pantry is still there but the entrance has been made a little awkward by a jutting corner of the kitchen countertop, & the door was removed before we arrived). Any additional help would be appreciated--I will try to post photos soon. Thank you! Anne
Hello. I have ordered Aladdin's book as well as Rosemary's. Even if our home is a knock-off, I'm fascinated by the topic! There was a shipping label on a box in our attic for custom-made table pads for the original owners' dining room table (which we don't have). It was from Sears, which I know may not mean the house is a kit. The remnants of a sticker inside one of our metal kitchen cabinets is also from Sears. The kitchen did have some work done (my husband says it was probably a 1950's remodel), but the original footprint may still be there. The original pantry and what appear to be the original windows in there are intact. We'll know better what has been retained when I can get true measurements of what all the rooms in the house should be (I'm having a hard time reading the numbers on the Clark library's catalog copy). Down in the basement, there is a pipe fitting with "SEMLER" in raised leters. They operated from 1905, according to Google. Did they sell plumbing for kit houses? That I don't know. The kitchen sink, as well as the bathroom one upstairs, are probably not original. The upstairs one is a console (with chrome legs, not porcelain), but I couldn't find an example of it in the Aladdin or Sears catalogs. The underside of some of the floor boards in the basement are stamped with "SECOND FLOOR". I know that Aladdin used words rather than numbered stamps on their pieces. I haven't had the courage to get into a crawl space yet, to be honest. The archway that separates the dining room & living room has round columns with bookcases on either side. Not sure if the glass doors are original--in a photo I saw from the catalog, the glass looked more decorative than our solid pane ones. Just out of curiosity, has anyone heard of a shower being hooked up in the basement? We have an old showerhead down there, set up right near the drainage hole in the basement floor. A linoleum type of wall in a checkerboard pattern covers the concrete--we're taking the fake wall down and removing the shower & pipes, in order to open up the space again. There's also a cold room down there, complete with an assortment of canning jars (one is actually filled with something). My husband said that an open window is encased in a walled in area. We had planned on removing those walls also, since they are clearly not part of the original basement. I'll let you know what the window looks like. Any additional info to help ID or rule out a kit house would be great. Sorry this is long but I'm trying to give as much info as I can. Thanks so much, everyone, & Happy New Year! Anne
Back again to share info. Pics of our house (what we believe to be Aladdin's Richmond) will post this weekend. Did discover that an oak leaf pattern door plate/knob that was "sold exclusively for Aladdin homes" (as per the 1916 furnishings catalog) is on every original door in the house. In the testimonials of the catalog from 1915, a man named Geo. Knox from Middletown, NY--where we live--praised his Aladdin Hamilton. We will do a drive by of the house on Commonwealth Ave. & compare it with the photo. So, we know Aladdin homes were built here. Aladdin also sold additions, which may explain our closed in back porch area. Part of the addition was open, the other part was enclosed. I do see markings in some kind of green pencil on some of the boards in the basement--can't quite read them. Is photobucket the best way to post pics? We'll do that tomorrow. Anything else we should check? Thanks, Anne
Thanks, Lauren. Here are photos. I figured out the resizing a little late so the BIG photos are on oldhouseweb.com if you'd like more detail. Mr. Wolicki replied to me there, so I hope he is checking here also. Thanks for your interest. Anne
I'm trying to post the pics in a better format. Hope this helps. Mr. Wolicki believes we have a Richmond, so we're going to try to date the house & get more background history. Thanks for your help! Anne
I don't know if you have heard of George F.Barber of Knoxville,Tn,but I have a reprint of his book,The Cottage Souviner No.2
