IN 1934, the date of publication of this new volume of American Homes of Today, twenty-two years have elapsed since the first volume of this series. A study of the progress of the design of the country house in America as illustrated in these publications illustrates the tremendous improvement in such work. In 1912 the country house which was worth anything whatever architecturally was either an antique or the work of a very few outstanding architects. The work of American architects in the country house field in general was stiff, undeveloped, and without the flavor of our best traditions. It has always seemed that the firm of McKim, Mead and White did more to bring about a renaissance in country house design than any other firm of architects. The James L. Breese house in Southampton, Long Island, is one of the first really great country houses, the design of which is based on old American precedent. In Virginia and Maryland and other parts of the central eastern South were old Georgian homes, not modern in plan or equipment, but as good as anything in the world architecturally. In New England and other parts of the Northeast were our Colonial houses, mostly in wood construction, but fresh, clean-cut and excellently designed. In California and in Florida to a small extent, a Spanish Colonial style provided a tradition as yet unappreciated. All these American precedents were practically unknown twenty years ago.