C. L. Bowes Publishing

1922 Bowes Catalog for Latham Bros. Lumber From about 1915 to 1930, C. L. Bowes of Hinsdale, Illinois was in business publishing catalogs of home plans. The plans were collected in catalogs and probably sold to lumber yards across the upper Midwest and as far east as New York. Lumber dealers then distributed the catalogs under their name to prospective home builders.

Bowes plans can also be seen in the Home Builder's Catalog which was compiled, edited, and published by National Building Publications, a division of National Trade Journals, Inc. of Chicago and New York.

Little is known of C. L. Bowes, but preliminary research finds a possibility in the U.S. Census for Chicago for 1910 and 1920. In 1910, Charles Lane Bowes lists his occupation as advertising and a decade later as publishing. Born in Illinois in the early 1870s, Charles L. Bowes married another Illinoisan, Eunice Bell Patten in 1900. They had two children. Such are the spartan facts of C. L. Bowes.

More research needs to be done to confirm that this is indeed the correct fellow. At least one source describes Bowes as an architect. If it's true that Bowes was more entrepreneur than architect or builder, who were the architects that designed the houses in his catalogs? No hint appears in the books in our collection, but we'll update our article when more surfaces.

Until then, we have published a few plans from a c. 1923 (undated) and 1925 catalog for you to enjoy.