;^. 



Figure 6. — Detail of a floorcloth. This painted-canvas iloor covering, wiiicli measures 

 40 by 108 inches, is decorated with yellow and brown lozenges. {Courtesy of Henry Francis 

 du Pont ]i 'inter t/tur Museum.) 



more picturesque and decorative of the floorcloths 

 made by Daniel Rea and Son were those described 

 in the daybooks on October 28, 1788. "To Painting 

 a Room and Entry Floor Cloath 35 yds. ^1 2/8 with 

 a Poosey-Cat on One Cloath and a Leetel Spannil 

 on ye. Other Frenchman Like [£]4.13.4." Re- 

 lated to these floor coverings is the one listed in May 

 1793. Under the heading "Memo, of Floor Cloaths, 

 where they are and how to be done," appears the 

 notation for a floorcloth in "Mr. Barys's Barn to be 

 painted a Border, Corner Posey & E)ogg in the 

 Center." ^" 



Geometric shapes such as scjuares, octagons, and 

 diamonds form one category of allover design favored 

 in the 18th century (fig. 6). A single shape or a 

 combination of shapes might be repeated over the 

 entire surface of the floorcloth. With the application 



'" For an 18th-century English pile carpet with a "Leetel" 

 dog "in the Center," see Thompson, op. cit. (footnote 1), 

 fig. 15, p. 213. 



of color an endless number of patterns was possible. 

 A design of squares could be transformed into a 

 "checquered" pattern by the simple device of alternat- 

 ing the colors of the shapes. In much the same way, 

 cubes, pyramids, and other three-dimensional effects 

 might be created for underfoot use. Variety also 

 could be achieved by the addition of a single figure 

 or device to a standard geometric repeat pattern. 

 For example, a floorcloth of striking appearance was 

 created by Alexander Wetherstone from an otherwise 

 ordinary diamond design by placing a compass-like 

 star exactly in the center (fig. 7). Some of the allover 

 designs made up of geometric shapes were essentially 

 imaginary creations. Others were closely akin to mar- 

 ble and tile floors; and copies on canvas of such floor- 

 ing provided a similar appearance and served a like 

 purpose, but at considerably less cost. Mrs. Anne 

 Grant suggests that this was the case in Colonel and 

 Mrs. Schuyler's New York house, the "Fiats," because 

 she recalled in her reminiscences of pre-Revolutionary 

 America that "the lobby had oilcloth painted in 



14 



BULLETIN ?50: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



