Planning Your Individual Home (Planning the Individual Home). by 1950s OVERSIZED HOUSE PLANS CATALOG) - 1950.

Chicago.: National Plan Service, Inc.. 1950.. Massive spiral bound catalog of house plans, 20 1/2 x 15 1/2 inches, faux leather covers, 95 numbered pages plus index. Very light dampstaining in upper margin of first three sheets, soft crease at lower right corner of first few pages, light wear to covers with scattered spotting, but interior pages are very clean and bright. Most plans feature color renderings of the home's exterior, with photographs of interiors and furnishings, again, primarily in color. Houses shown, when single story, are chiefly in the 950 to 1050 square foot category. Most of these homes are two bedroom models, with kitchen, living, dining, and bathroom, in addition to an attached garage. Two story homes feature greater square footage. Many of the homes feature basements. The catalog was produced by NPS for distribution to lumber dealers. A complete set of plans could be acquired for customers desiring to build one of the homes illustrated. The catalog states on the first page what, for many homeowners, would become a rueful never-to-be-forgotten lesson: "Building a home is one of the greatest adventures of your lifetime." On the same page a family of four, parents and two children, peer with unrestrained pleasure at a small model of a one-story home…while a dotted line emanating from the model carries the reader's eye to the image at the bottom of the page - a turreted castle of the imagination. Heartache guaranteed.The huge dimensions of the catalogue permit large and colorful illustrations, detailed floor plans, plus, on many pages, black and white illustrations featuring "rear" and "side" views of each home. Inevitably the homes are pictured in luxuriant surrounds with leafy trees, verdant lawns, and cascading flowers. Occasionally the catalog will feature three homes to a page. Other components of the catalog include a "brick color guide," info on various topics: cedar shingles, woodwork, asphalt roofing, glass blocks ("add charm to modern homes") etc. Additional sections focus on the "concrete house," "wiring for modern living," in addition to individual focus on each room in the house, with particular attention to "your kitchen." The catalog is an amazing and uncommon production. .