BARBER, George Franklin (1854-1915) of Knoxville, Tenn. was the author of two pattern books of house designs published during the last decade of the nineteenth century. His first, The Cottage Souvenir: A Repository of Artistic Cottage Architecture and Miscellaneous Designs, was published in 1892 and was followed by New Model Dwellings and How Best to Build Them (Barber & Co., 1895). Six of his residential designs have been located in Canada. One was erected for George Moore, Ashwood Drive, PARRY SOUND, ONT. in 1900, and was likely based on a design extracted from these books (inf. from the Parry Sound Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee).
Barber later published Modern Dwellings: A Book of Practical Designs (1901) and he edited a magazine entitled American Homes: A Journal Devoted to Planning, Building and Beautifying the Home, published regularly between 1902 and 1904. The firm of Barber & Kluttz, Knoxville, Tenn. are credited with the design of a Queen Anne style mansion for Thomas Cantley, NEW GLASGOW, N.S., 1903-04 (E. Pacey & A. Comiter, Landmarks: Historic Buildings of Nova Scotia, 1994, 184-5, illus.). They also designed a substantial residence for "T.F.Kelley" [sic] of WINNIPEG, MAN.,1906-07 (Western Architect (Minneapolis), xi, May 1908, illus.). This was likely for Thomas Kelly, the successful general contractor and owner of Thomas Kelly & Sons, whose residence was located on Carlton Street at Assiniboine Avenue, Winnipeg. A biography of Barber can be found in Who's Who in Tennessee, 1911. He died in Knoxville, Tenn. on 17 February 1915 (obit. The Tennessean [Nashville], 18 Feb. 1915, 7). An extensive list of over 400 buildings by Barber in the United States and Canada has recently been listed on the free website at Wikipedia.com .
ELMVALE, ONT. (now called Springwater), residence for Francis E. Shaw, at 44 Queen Street East, 1896, still standing in 2024 (George F. Barber, The Cottage Souvenir: A Repository of Artistic Cottage Architecture and Miscellaneous Designs, 2nd Edit., 1891, illus., Design No. 41)
BRAESIDE, ONT., residence for Hon. John Gillies, at 421 Gillies Grove Road, c. 1897 (Barber & Kluttz, Architects, Modern Dwellings - A Book of Practical Designs and Plans, 3rd Edit., 1901, p. 301, Design No. 242, illus. and descrip., inf. Ian Mason, Sarnia)
PARRY SOUND, ONT., residence for George Moore, at 2 James Street, 1900, still standing in 2024 (George F. Barber, The Cottage Souvenir: A Repository of Artistic Cottage Architecture and Miscellaneous Designs, 1891, illus.)
NEW GLASGOW, N.S., mansion for Thomas Cantley, 1903-04, still standing in 2024 (E. Pacey & A. Comiter, Landmarks: Historic Buildings of Nova Scotia, 1994, 184-5, illus.)
WINNIPEG, MAN., residence for "T.F.Kelley" [sic], likely for Thomas Kelly, Carlton Street at Assiniboine Avenue, 1906-07 (Western Architect (Minneapolis), xi, May 1908, illus.)
VICTORIA, B.C., "Roslyn", the residence for Andrew Gray, at 1135 Catherine Street, 1908, still standing in 2024 (Victoria Heritage Foundation, This Old House: Victoria's Heritage Neighbourhoods, Vol. 1, 2013, 182-84, illus. & descrip.)