Product Review

The Methodist campground located in the small community of Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard has been beloved by generations of visitors and residents. It was here, in the years of the Civil War, that the first clusters of small Victorian homes were constructed, replacing the temporary tent platforms that provided shelter to the faithful who had come by side-wheeler to listen to the preaching emanating from the central Tabernacle. Today, these makeshift structures have been transformed into Victorian cottages of almost infinite variety, a colorful, decorative necklace of glorious, unrestrained architectural fancy and diversity. Families have gathered here for generations, not only to celebrate their faith but also to partake in the social rituals like Grand Illumination Night with its Chinese lanterns that have become an indelible part of our heritage.

These small houses, lovingly tended and idiosyncratically decorated, are splendid examples of the vernacular architecture commonly called "Carpenter Gothic." Adorned with endearing porches, furniture and flowers, they are reminders of a past when family life was close knit and central, faith was straightforward and uncomplicated, and twilight lasted forever, and here we see them beautifully recorded in 100 photographs, accompanied by a text describing the history, character, customs, and folklore of this quintessentially American community.