[A remarkable archive of 44 post-World War II real estate listings from the Ward Cook Company, filled with manuscript notes, notes of sale, and 46 original photographs of the home exteriors in Portland, Beaverton, Gresham, Milwaukie, and Lake Oswego, Oregon]. by [ARCHITECTURE & REAL ESTATE ARCHIVE]. [ENGLAND, Jay Carter] - 1947-1955].

[Portland, OR: Ward Cook Inc., 1947-1955]. 4to. [88 pp (unpaginated)], some leaves on mimeograph form sheets, others on printed forms, nearly all with extensive manuscript annotations in ink and pencil recto & verso, with 46 original black & white silver gelatin photos stapled to the sheets, sized from 3.5 x 3.5 in. up to 4.5 x 5.5 in., 1 loose black & white photograph, several sheets w/ mounted newspaper real estate listing, several with hand-drawn maps on verso of lots, and/or locations (minor wear & creasing to fore-edges, some creasing, thumbing, dustsoiling, some closed tears, nearly all hole punches at gutter margin reinforced). Preserved in 3-ring black cloth binder (minor edgewear, some rubbing), still VG collection, w/ envelope laid in from the Anheuser-Busch, Inc. to Jay England, Portland, OR, 1954. This uncommon archive of real estate listings and photographs document the houses marketed and sold after World War II, in and around Portland, Oregon. In the post-War era, lumber companies, real estate companies, developers, and builders promoted FHA-sponsored small bungalow plans, which were the result of one of President Roosevelt’s second inaugural initiatives, the Wagner-Steagall Housing Act. This empowered the US Housing Authority to advance loans of up to 90% of project costs, which were embraced by such house plan companies as the National Plan Service. The homes included here range from Cape Cod style bungalows, to magnificent 4-Square Arts & Crafts homes in such desirable Portland neighborhoods as Irvington, along with many Mid-Century Modern ranch style homes. These listings document the builders, sizes of the homes, amenities, whether they were insulated, property taxes owed, owners, sellers, the listing price, and selling price, as well as often including the name of the buyer and date sold. Many of the homes in this archive are still standing in Portland, Beaverton, Milwaukie, Lake Oswego, and Gresham, some with substantial additions, and others still in their original size and footprints ranging from 750 to 2500 square feet. The photographs provide invaluable historical documentation of original landscaping details, types of automobiles owned at the time, and glimpses of neighborhoods which have markedly changed over the succeeding decades. England (1897-1968) was born in Illinois, was a Marine Corps Private during World War I, later worked as a stove salesman, and finally after World War II became a very successful real estate agent and mortgage broker for Ward Cook until his death.