History of canvas floorcloths

A Victorian-era living room scene with a woman writing, three young girls, a woman with babies, a dog, and decorative elements like birdcages and a landscape painting.

1800’s painting showing canvas floor cloth
Source: https://www.nga.gov/artworks/42452-sargent-family#provenance

Early history:

Floorcloths, initially known as “oil cloths” (because they were coated in an oil-based varnish) date back as far as the 1700s, and were first used to keep down the dirt on the floor.

“Before the invention of linoleum took the title, the floorcloth enjoyed over two centuries as the trendiest floor covering to infatuate the middle class. In fact, the emergence of the middle class is what enabled its rise to fashionable popularity by the 1700s.

The new middle class had new expendable income. Yet, while they could indulge in little luxuries, those luxuries still needed to serve a purpose. The floorcloth could be both luxurious and utilitarian - functional, yet stylish. Pricey, yet useful enough that the middle class household could justify the cost.

Floor coverings were essential to any household. They helped to keep floors clean, and to retain warmth in the winter. Prior to the floorcloth, only the elite could afford to decorate their interior floors with exotic carpets or patterns of marble, ceramic, or parquet. The rest of the population resorted to the objectively plain and strictly functional straw rug or woven mat, which was much more susceptible to deterioration and insect infestation. The floorcloth changed all of this. ”

https://thebrownhomestead.ca/journal/floorcloths

Into production:

Initially, sails from ships were recycled as floor cloths, and hand-painted by artisans or even individual homeowners. In the 1800’s, with the advent of of woodblock printing, factories began producing floorcloths with designs resembling marble, ceramic tile and other geometric patterns.

Elegant dining room with a large wooden table set for a meal, surrounded by wooden chairs with blue cushions, a fireplace with a portrait above, and grand windows with ornate curtains, in a classic style.

An oil cloth on the dining room floor, from the Craig House in Baltimore, now part of the The Met https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/collection-areas/the-american-wing/period-rooms/baltimore-room. Original image from: https://www.baldwinparkphilly.org/oil-cloths

Indoor rustic room with stone fireplace, wooden chairs, spinning wheel, and checkerboard-patterned floor.

https://heritagevillagemuseum.wordpress.com/2014/06/26/floorcloths-in-america/

A vintage advertisement for Macaulay's manufacturing company, featuring an illustrated building with signage for patent floor cloth, oil cloth, carpet manufactory, and other textiles. The ad provides the company's address in Philadelphia and lists products like patent floor cloths, carpets, and oil cloths. It is dated May 29, 1818.

A handwritten bill for a commercially produced floorcloth from 1818

Castner, Samuel, Jr., 1843-1929 - Compiler. (ca. 1818). Macaulay's Carpet Manufactory. Fairview Street, Bush Hill [Graphic].. [Engravings]. Retrieved from https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/47760

Large scale manufacturing of floor cloths was quickly surpassed by the advent of linoleum, initially patented in 1864. Linoleum quickly became the standard for floor covering owing to its durability and lower cost to produce (using flat-bed and rotary printing).

There has been renewed interest in floorcloths recently, but the large majority produced are “period reproductions” using geometric shapes and typically muted colors. Sarah Minor Design bucks this trend, using freehand painting and bold colors!