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Deirdre
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Hi,

Am I early,I can't see any posts?

Kathy

VICTORIAN TABLECLOTHS - 1800-1899

This period marked the beginning of a long period of immigration
from central and Eastern Europe, providing the labor essential
to the growth of the American textile industry and fueling the
"industrial revolution" in America. During most of the
late 1800s, Queen Victoria, who had lost her beloved Prince Albert,
made it fashionable to be a widow. This influence produced the
dark, somber, and opulent Victorian colors and styles that characterize
the textile fabrics from 1850-1900. The Industrial Revolution
had given the majority of the urban population a new prosperity
and wealth and they were eager to show off with their lavish furnishings
and rich table linens.

Prior to the middle of the 19th-century, all dyes were natural,
obtained from various sources found in nature such as plants,
coal tar, and insects. The most common and valuable dyes were:
Madder- a red mauve; Indigo- a deep blue; and Saffron yellow.
These three dyes were difficult to produce and expensive. Mordant
was used to help seal the color into the fabric and prevent fading.
This dye problem was solved in Turkey where they had developed
a brilliant, true, colorfast red for use in Turkish carpets. This
color, known as "Turkey Red", was extremely durable
and could even be laundered with great success.

In 1863, William Perkins created the first commercial synthetic
dye that he called "mauve". By the late 1890's Turkey
Red table linens and show towels, which were fancy linen damask
towels usually with fringe that were laid across the mantle or
china cabinet, were in use. You could also find mauve single color
printed table covers such as the one shown here. They were offered
in almost all mail order catalogs and department stores and found
in every fashionable Victorian home.

Table linens of this period were dark heavy tapestries, fringed
Turkey Red and white damask cloths, and heavily decorated plush
and velvet table toppers.

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Grama's Attic - Your Host

Hi Karen (thevintagetable) glad you could make it!

Pam

Pam, do you worry about keeping them folded like that? I know that antique quilts can wear if they're folded the same way all the time. Do you rotate yours?

Thevintagetable - I do rotate them, and rolling them is better than folding really,

I have two main things that I collect. French blue and pink ones and whimsical ones. I used to collect Christmas ones, but I only collect those now if they're interesting. My tastes have changed over the couple of years that I've been collecting.