The New York Times Book Review ran its first dedicated issue on June 5, 1897, with suggestions ranging from poetry to “Travel and Adventure” and “Gardens, Flowers and Birds.” More than a century later, swap in a few new titles and those categories are still on our list today. Books for Idle Hours: Nineteenth-Century Publishing and the Rise of Summer Reading traces the trend back to Victorian publishers, who turned a slow season into a market for resort- and seaside-set stories.
Aug 19, 25
Summer Reading
Did you know “summer reading” has been its own category since the late 1800s?
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William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) Idle Hours, oil on canvas, 1894
✤ Pages to Inspire ✤
Our summer reading list takes that tradition and turns it into a visual journey. Within the Casa Branca library, you’ll find volumes from the design world’s most visionary figures, taking us through faraway destinations, lush gardens, artful landscapes, whimsical collections, and beautifully detailed how-tos on your dream interior—the ideal way to wile away the rest of the summer hours, with inspiration.
