REPRODUCTION EARLY AMERICAN FLOOR CLOTH STENCILS

THE HISTORY OF FLOOR CLOTHS:

Painted floor cloths date from 14th Century France, when decorative arts were very much in vogue and were proudly displayed as signs of wealth. Painted and woven tapestries, table runners, and floor cloths adorned the finest homes. Around 1650, the fashion of painted floor coverings was adopted by the British who discovered the cloths as an inexpensive way to own a fine piece of art. The canvas cloths--nicknamed "crumb cloths"-- appealed to the practical merchant class: they were beautiful to look at and also served a necessary utilitarian purpose.

Early American Settlers carried the useful art form across the ocean and adapted the designs familiar in England.They painted tile-like geometric patterns on large, heavily coated sailcloths that covered their dirt floors wall to wall. Everybody had one in the 1700s; even Thomas Jefferson at Monticello owned 2 grass green floor cloths to give the home a more natural feeling. For more than 200 years hand painted designs remained popular as an affordable, practical, and handsome way to decorate one's home. By the 19th Century, hand painted work had been replaced by stenciling. Itinerant decorative painters, like Moses Eaton, quickly, inexpensively--and often times sloppily-- decorated walls, floors, and cloths throughout the countryside. Borrowing from the same tradition, linoleum came on the scene during the turn of the century, and mass produced floor coverings all but obliterated the presence of hand painted ones. With the recent resurgence in home arts, artisans have resurrected the craft of painted floor cloths, recognizing the same qualities today as they did 600 years ago.

Yankee Stencil Company is very pleased to offer this new category to our customers!

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