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A Brief History of Table Cloths & the American Textile Industry (Part 1)

The Textile Industry produces our beloved table cloths, table coverings, napkins and kitchen linens. The Textile Industry has long been a major staple in the American economy. A child of the British factory system the first successful American cotton-spinning mill was in Rhode Island in 1790. This event began transforming New England from an agricultural to an industrial region. During these years of industrialization the federal government was developing its own strategy and debates about manufacturing. Textile was deemed the earliest forms of American big business. By placing government imposed tariffs on imported cloths some textile entrepreneurs benefited financially. U.S. labor unions saw their first light in the textile mills. Textile mills spread throughout the northeast until the 1880‘s when they began moving south.

End of the 19^th Century (Victorian - Industrial Revolution-Civil War):
The latter half of the 1800’s saw America in rapid change. The world as well as the country was in the midst of the gilded age of Queen Victoria, the Industrial Revolution and of course, the United States was being un-united by the Civil War. Because of new inventions the textile manufacturing industry no longer required labor intensive hand work and was more affordable, more widely available and often easier to care for. Also, because of the advent of machines the average housewife had more time to enjoy handcrafts and the hobby of embroidery and lacework on tablecloths became popular during this era. Pioneers in the Arts and Crafts movement like William Morris also began artistic ventures in the world of textiles. Morris and others began handcrafting and dyeing textiles in revolt against the Industrial Revolution’s mass production methods.

Turn of the Century (Art Nouveau - Arts and Crafts - Mission - Art Deco):
The coming of the 20th century saw remarkable changes in home decors. Thanks to the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris home interiors were introduced to the “new art” of Art Nouveau. The Arts and Crafts Movement had also entered America through designers and architects like Gustav Stickley and America’s signature Mission designs. The artists practicing in Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts and Mission all believed that the artists should work in accord to create a total work of art. The textile artistry was usually organic and in a nature inspired print. Crisp Art Deco and sharp geometric prints became the fashion for modern table cloths and napkins. Art Nouveau’s often whimsical designs included pastel colors like silvery gray, pale greens, sky blues, muted reds, dim orange and soft pinks, mauves, and violets. The move away from the Victorians tendency to use gloomy dark colors was obvious and purposeful.

An interesting turn of events in the American textile industry occurred during WWI. Because Germany had become the world’s major producer of dyes and dyestuffs the Allied blockade of German shipping caused American textile research facilities to have to invent new ideas for dyes. Because of the poor sources and choices for dyes in those years there are very few examples of tablecloths from 1914 through 1920 that are still in good condition.

Several other factors entered textiles, including the introduction of synthetic fibers like nylon.

 

 

Tags: american textile industry, custom table cloths, history of table cloths, history of textiles, table cloths, table covers, TABLES

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 9th, 2008 at 1:17 pm and is filed under Custom Dining Room Table Pads, Linens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.