Mount Desert has been one of America's favorite tourist destinations for over 150 years. As early as the 1840s, the lush landscape of this island on the Maine coast attracted artists and writers, who soon made Mount Desert's beauty famous with their paintings and publications. The stream of tourists that began traveling to the island after the Civil War prompted a building boom of cottages, hotels, and various buildings in Bar Harbor and other towns in the vicinity. Fred Savage (1861-"1924) was the most influential architect in the development of Mount Desert and northeastern Maine, designing over three hundred buildings. Richly illustrated with archival drawings, photographs, and newly commissioned color photography, Maine Cottages presents all of Savage's most important works while placing the life and career of this architect in the larger context of Mount Desert.

Mount Desert, an island on the eastern coast of Maine, became a popular resort destination after the Civil War. As more tourists visited the island, hotels were built and filled, and some visitors began to buy land and build houses. 4th generation islander Savage became the area's most influential architect, and designed over 300 buildings there. Bryan (art history, U. of South Carolina) describes the history of Mount Desert, Savage's background and early architectural training, and then examines examples of Savage's work by region and style. Color photographs show beautiful views of Mount Desert, as well as interiors and exteriors of Savage's cottages. Elevations and floor plans are also included, and the appendix contains a list of buildings and projects, and some of Savage's own writing. The format is oversize (9.25x12.25").
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John Bryan is a noted architectural historian and professor of art history at the University of South Carolina. Richard Cheek is an architectural photographer who has been recording the visual history of American design since 1966.