Garlinghouse Company Architectural Plan Books from 1993. Slight water damage on cover and surface feels uneven, but excellent condition considering age.

Because of the explosion in the housing industry in the years directly following World War II, architectural plan books played a significant role in the development and form of the residential landscape of America. Architectural plan books have existed since the 1910s and 1920s; it was during the mid-century period that the practice and selection of them really expanded. Out of the all of the companies that produced, Garlinghouse was undoubtedly the largest and most widespread.

The Garlinghouse Company was created around 1915 in Topeka, KS by home-builder Lewis F. Garlinghouse. In an effort to promote his building business, he would arrange photos of his recent projects, along with their plans, in the window of a local bank. This display caught the eye of a loans officer from a bank in another city, who thought the idea would greatly benefit his area as well. Mr. Garlinghouse agree and soon other builders were requesting copies of Garlinghouse's plans, which he had created. Among his many designs that caught on, his most famous from the 1920s was one called the "airplane bungalow," which was built all cross the country to such an extent that it created its own architectural sub-style.

Garlinghouse continued to create and distribute new collections of plans in the following years. However, it was the introduction of the "ranch style" that allowed the company to expand by leaps and bounds.