Ned and list

An interesting definitional quandary that one.

Prefabricated houses (generally timber, but also corrugated iron, oil cloth on timber frame and, amazingly, papier-mache!) were common imports on shipping lists from the mid 19th century in Australia, from a range of sources, including many from Southeast Asia, known as 'Singapore houses'.  

While most probably ended up on the more enduring goldfields, quite a few were used in newly established suburbs in Australian towns.  I think that they were made to be able to be erected by an unskilled person.

By later in the century (?1880s) local sawmills were selling ready to assemble houses, which were just collections of the different sizes of milled timber that could be bought as a package rather than by separate lengths.

Because we don't tend to think that standardised or modular design is characteristic of the nineteenth century, buildings of this sort are often overlooked and not recognised as being pre-fab / do it yourself, as the clues are quite subtle and often concealed behind wall finishes.  A good starter on the topic is a paper by Miles Lewis in an early issue of Australian Journal of Historical Archaeology.


Denis Gojak


>>> Ned Heite <[log in to unmask]> 10/28 10:30 pm >>>
If you are trying to date the advent of do-it-yourself building materials,
perhaps Sears catalogue predates the establishment of an actual
brick-and-mortar locations. Certainly the country-town hardware store of
the early twentieth century was the original outlet for such merchandise.
Cement block machines, already cited, are a perfect example. Sears
mail-order houses are another. What's important, in DIY terms, is that
these products came with assembly instructions, so that the unskilled could
use them.

But how do you choose to characterize do-it-yourself merchandise? Seems to
me that such merchandise should contain point-of-sale packaging with
illustrative materials and installation instructions for the end user. And
this is an archaeological issue, because the advent of packaging with such
instructions permitted the wide and rapid diffusion of innovative products.


               Ned Heite  ([log in to unmask])
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