In 1964, a Long Island real estate developer named Herbert Sadkin came up with the idea of building affordable vacation homes on Montauk Point. The idea was to have completely standardized models easily mass-produced, which were fully furnished right down to enough toothbrushes for the entire family. The marketing plan was daring and original. A full size model was built on Macy's ninth floor, and stories abound of the lady who went there for a bra and left with a house. They were coined Leisurama; the advertising slogan was, "Just turn the key and start living"; and they sold for $11,000 to $15,990.

Paul Sahre, a graphic designer and all-around polymath rented a Leisurama in 2001 with some designer friends from the city. In the preface to his new book, Leisurama Now (Princeton Architectural Press 2008) he says, "Our decision to rent was later re-enforced when we learned that our beach house came with a logo - perfect for a couple of graphic designers - as did the precisely 164 other Leisuramas all around us in Culloden Shores...."

Left: Michael Northrup's Leisurama "mug shots." Center and right: household items from the Leisurama inventory.

He fell in love with the houses, which were designed by Andrew Geller for Raymond Lowy Associates. Most have been seriously altered on the exterior and very few remain untouched within. As he learned the story of how they came into being, Paul began a visual documentation. By the third summer, he convinced his friend, photographer Michael Northrup, "to come up to the beach to invoke Ed Ruscha. Over a three-day period we photographed - as unjudgmentally as we could - every Leisurama...from the exact same perspective. This collection of 'mug shots' was the first step in convincing a publisher that Leisurama would make an interesting book."

The beautifully designed book presents nearly 300 photograph that detail just about every aspect of Leisurama, then and now, inside and out. In addition to the original photography of the houses and their furnishings by Michael Northrup and others, Paul and his team dug up the marketing history, and found Macy's ads, the Leisurama sales kit, sales contracts and inventory sheets, all of which are included. In addition, the book has an essay by architectural historian William Morgan, which tells one of the most intriguing chapters in the history of the American love affair with modernity; a remembrance of his father, architect Andrew Geller, by Jake Gorst, whose documentary film about Leisurama was aired on PBS in 2005; and a photographic inventory of the original furnishings and accessories done by knocking on doors and setting up temporary photo studios in the Leisurama backyards.

Tomorrow night, Paul Sahre makes a presentation at East End Books in East Hampton, starting at 6:30 pm. He will talk about Leisurama with a modern perspective on the idealism and enterpreneureal boldness of the enterprise and about the archeology entailed in making this book.