Historic Style! Book Sale & Fundraiser
Missouri Preservation is incrediblly excited to announce the release of a book we have eaglerly been awaiting!
Historic Style by Kelee Katillac
Starting today, November 28 through December 2023, a portion of book sales of Historic Style will be donated to Missouri Preservation!
This is a WONDERFUL read — as a preservationist and lover of color, this book made my heart sing. It is one you can come back to again and again: to peruse the beautiful photos or take in some wonderful insights about design and historic preservation.
I have already highlighted a plethora of quotes for my own advocacy work — like this one:
“The fate of many historic homes that meet the wrecking ball is attributable, more than anything else, to a poverty of imagination.”
Historic Style, pg. 11
Historic Style is a book for preservationists, design enthusiasts, historians, equal rights activists and everyone in between. The first portion of the book is a case study on the Henry Blosser House, a former Missouri Place in Peril turned Honor Award recipient. With the help of both State and Federal Historic Tax Credits, a bit of imagination and lots of hard work, Katillac and the Elmans (saviors of the Blosser House) proved that no building is too far gone! Other familiar Missouri sites are also featured, like the Hotel Kansas City (a 2021 Honor Award recipient) and the Bingham Homestead in Arrow Rock.
While fun, this book also addresses a very important topic in preservation today: telling the full story. It details her idea of a “New Theory” in how we tackle preservation, recontextulaizing a more inclusive view of preservation for communities and adopting a concept of “recoloring.”
This means being more aware — as we renovate, redesign, or even assemble a wardrobe or a table setting — of the larger historical picture and the many-colored hands that have contributed ot most every element of every style.
Historic Style pg. 266
This holiday season, I urge you to get a copy of this book for yourself! Grab it for a fellow preservationist — give it as a gift to a family member.
Now through December 31, 2023 a portion of book sales will be donated to Missouri Preservation to help us advocate for endangerd historic places like the Blosser House!
You can purchase your copy by visiting Historic Style’s website below.