Donna J. Rilling,Making Houses, Crafting Capitalism: Builders in Philadelphia, 1790–1850. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001. xii + 261 pp. $45.00 cloth.

Extract

Making Houses, Crafting Capitalism examines the home construction industry in antebellum Philadelphia and the men who sought to transform themselves from carpenters into what the author calls “master builders,” entrepreneurs who rose up from the artisanal ranks. Donna J. Rilling contributes to our collective body of knowledge about the fascinating, albeit little known, world of Philadelphia carpenters who doubled as entrepreneurs. She also has written a book with a narrow scope that fits uncomfortably with other works of antebellum America. In short, she has written an academic monograph, in the best and worst senses of the term.