Fiske Kimball's groundbreaking third book evolved out of his lecture series on American architecture given at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in early 1920. The book, published in 1922 through Charles Scribner's Sons with support from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a heavily illustrated history of the evolution of early American architecture. Many of the houses discussed were further elaborated upon in Kimball's later writings. Material includes correspondence with William Sumner Appleton, Cass Gilbert, the Library of Congress, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a handful of Benjamin Henry Latrobe's ancestors, and others; Kimball's research material; a corrected typescript; illustrations and associated notes; and a personal copy of the printed work with Kimball's corrections.