To the architect who desires to use iron or steel in construction and
to figure out his own drawings for the purpose, nothing can take the
place of the handbooks furnished by the great iron and steel companies
to aid in this work; and the convenience of having all tables,
formulas, etc., together with a reliable catalogue of commercial
and practical possibilities, all in one little handbook is not to be
over-estimated.

What has in the past been done for the users of constructional iron
and steel work has now been attempted in a very different field for
architects who may wish to design in brick, both plain, moulded and
ornamental. That this attempt is well considered and most thoroughly
carried out would be perfectly certain if for no other reason than for
the name of the compiler, Mr. Frank Miles Day, of Philadelphia. There
have been similar attempts made in the past, but they are crude in
comparison with the handsome volume now before us. It does not matter
that this beautifully printed and illustrated book is a perfectly
frank advertisement, put forward for purely business reasons. It has
a most important bearing upon the progress and development of the best
American architecture.

The suggestions in designs are very largely taken from the buildings
in the north of Italy, adapted, of course, to the requirements of
modern bricks. They show at all times a most discriminating and
delicate taste and familiarity with the best architecture.

The ostensible purpose of the book is to remedy the difficulty which
all who have attempted to use bricks in designing have experienced to
a greater or less extent, of finding forms suitable for a given space.