Abbott Lowell Cummings Prize

The Abbott Lowell Cummings Prize, named after the founding president of the VAF, is awarded annually to the publication that has made the most significant contribution to the study of vernacular architecture and cultural landscapes of North America. In judging the nominated books, the jurors look for a publication that is based on primary research, that emphasizes fieldwork, that breaks new ground in interpretation or methodology, and that contributes generally to the intellectual vitality of vernacular studies in North America. Entries may come from any discipline concerned with vernacular architecture studies. Books published in the two years prior to the conference year are eligible for consideration. Edited collections are not eligible.

There is no application form, but a cover letter should include a complete mailing address, phone number and email address in order to notify the candidate should the nominated work receive the award. The deadline for submission is Friday, December 12, 2008. Books may be sent directly to the committee members for the 2009 Cummings Prize:

Elizabeth Cromley (Cummings Committee Chair)
151 Ryder Hall
Northeastern University
Boston, MA 02115

J. Ritchie Garrison
Director, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture
203 Mechanical Hall
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716

Tom Hubka
Professor, Department of Architecture
Room 260
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2131 East Hartford Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53211

2008 Prize Winner

Abigail Ayres Van Slyck. A Manufactured Wilderness: Summer Camps and the Shaping of American Youth, 1890-1960. University of Minnesota Press, 2006.
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