Left: Choices in Queen Anne sash windows from a builders’ catalogue c1890
Right: Typical square “Art glass” panes of stained glass in a house in Port Townsend WA.
Left: Influence in all things exotic influenced Queen Anne Interiors. An illustration by Walter Crane (1874) for “Aladdin or the Wonderful Lamp” shows the richness of Japanese influence in fabrics and colour.
Right: Anglo-Japanese furniture designs by Edward William Godwin, 1870’s to 1880’s. Suitable for Queen Anne Interiors. Less expensive – but more widely available – ‘bamboo’ tables and bookcases allowed the correct look for middle-class homes.
These popular influences continued on as being suitable for Queen Anne interiors into the 1890’s.
The Carson Mansion, Eureka California. The grandest Queen Anne mansion on the west coast of the United States. An overall fanciful design. Towers, inset balconies, elaborate turned woodwork and fancy-cut shingles are all hallmarks of the Queen Anne style.
Built in 1883 by William Carson, a lumber baron, for his own home. The builders, Samuel and Joseph Cather Newsom of San Francisco, made extensive use of Carson’s own lumber to showcase the residence. The Carson Mansion is now a private club, and not open to the public.
Anglo-Japanese designs, popular during the 1880’s, are particularly suitable for the Queen Anne interior. Here, the ‘Japonesque Wave’ wallpaper, printed in gold on ochre, and textiles emblazoned with flying cranes, add Aesthetic touches to the room. The Aesthetic English vase, blue and white china jar and English sideboard c1880 are antiques. The wallpaper is available from www.CharlesRupertDesigns.com
Four examples of Queen Anne houses in North America show typical variations that are found in the style:
Queen Anne Houses in North America:
Left top: Denver, Colorado
Right top: Saco, Maine
Bottom left: Bloomington Illinois
Bottom right: Vernon, British Columbia, Canada
Not all Queen Anne houses have towers, but it is a feature that is commonly associated with the style.
Houses constructed in the confident and exuberant Queen Anne style are still landmarks in our communities today. On inspection, the inspirational details that make up the style can still be seen. Those details – drawn from so many influences – when brought together, make up the style that is one of the most recognizable and popular building styles of the Victorian era.
The popularity of Queen Anne architecture for homes continued on into the 20th century. Though lacking the exuberant woodwork that was common at the height of the style, this stripped-down Edwardian version c1908 in Victoria, B.C., is still recognizable as a Queen Anne home. The corner tower, fanciful eaves, the prominent corner front porch and the stained glass transoms over the large downstairs windows all point to its earlier design precedents.