The Golden Age of Ironwork illustrates the architectural uses of iron in both the buildings and the landscapes of the Philadelphia area, primarily during the Greek Revival period, the Victorian age, and the early twentieth century. Philadelphia was rich in its collection of cast iron facades and was the home of both the nation’s foremost ornamental iron foundry and America’s greatest wrought iron craftsman. Philadelphia’s Samuel Yellin (1885–1940) was recognized as America’s greatest artist-blacksmith. This book features the work of Yellin and other gifted ironsmiths as well as the creations of the foundries that produced cast iron facades and America’s finest ornamental cast ironwork.

The book is especially helpful to those interested in historical preservation who want to use ironwork appropriate and accurate to their buildings and grounds.