inventories and newspaper advertisements. "3 floor 

 Matts" valued at 60 shillings were listed among items 

 located "In the Chambers" in the 1749 inventory of a 

 Boston widow, Sarah Trecothick.^" Mrs. Elizabeth 

 Pecker's inventory recorded in 1757 included "a 

 Straw matt" among the chamber furnishings.^" 

 And a "handsome Floor Straw Carpet" was men- 

 tioned in an auction notice which appeared in the 

 Boslon Gazette of January 28, 1 760. The fact that 

 straw carpets and matting were available in New 

 England at this time coincides with their appearance 

 elsewhere in the colonies. Thus, it seems probable 

 that their use on this side of the Atlantic dates from the 

 middle of the 18th century. 



References to straw floor coverings later in the century 

 include "a large matt for entry 6/" listed in the 1778 

 inventory of Peter Chardon, E.sq., of Boston.^'* At 

 Mount \'ernon, the straw mats ordered in 1759 

 apparently had proved satisfactory for in July 1772 

 an order of goods "for the Use of George Washington, 

 Potomack River, Virginia," included "30 yards of 

 yard wide Floor Matt'g." *'' Since straw is among 

 the less durable of materials for underfoot use, it is 

 likely that the order may have been for replacing 

 worn-out portions. Wear and tear also may have 

 accounted for the fact that matting was ordered again 

 in the late 1 780s. In a letter dated Mount Vernon, 

 January 15, 1789, and addressed to Robert Morris, 

 Washington wrote: "I pray you to receive my thanks 

 for your favor of the 5th. and for the obliging attention 

 which you have given to the Floor matting from China. 

 The latter is not yet arrived at the Port of Alexandria 

 nor is the navigation of the River at this time open 

 for the Passage of any Vessel; while, the frost has 

 much the appearance of encreasing and continuing."*" 

 Floor matting seems to have been in continuous use 

 at Mount Vernon during the second half of the 18th 

 century on the basis of Washington's correspondence 

 and orders for goods. 



Washington's letters also reveal that the Orient was 



"Inventory of Mrs. Sarah Trecothick. Feb. 22, 1749. In 

 Suffolk Probate Books, vol. 43, pp. 397-400. 



■" Inventory of Mrs. Elizabeth Pecker, May 6, 17.t7. Ibid., 

 vol. 52, pp. 317-19. 



*" Inventory of Peter Chardon, June 5, 1778. Ibid., vol. 77, 

 pp. 14.'J-49. 



" Invoice of goods ordered by George Washington. Mount 

 Vernon, from Robert Gary, London, July 1772. In Writings 

 of George Washington, op. cit. (footnote 55), vol. 3, p. 92. 



"'' Letter from George Washington, Mount Vernon, to Robert 

 Morris, Philadelphia, Jan. 15, 1789. Ibid., vol. 30, p. 179. 



one source of supply for underfoot furnishings of straw. 

 The correspondence between Thomas Jefferson and 

 his assistant, Thomas Claxton, concerning the pur- 

 chase of floor coverings for the White House mentions 

 floor matting of oriental origin, too. In a letter to 

 Jeffer.son, dated Philadelphia, Juno 1.^, 1802, Claxton 

 wrote: 



Before I left the city of Washington you mentioned a 

 floor cloth which you wished to have painted on canvas. 

 Since I have been here, I have seen a kind of grass 

 matting which is used by the genteelest people, — it is, 

 in my estimation very handsome and comes cheaper even 

 than the common painted cloths of this countrv. In- 

 closed, sir, you will have a specimen of the stuff. It is a 

 yard and a half wide and costs 7/6 pr. yard. I believe a 

 square yard of canvas, that is good, will cost before any 

 paint is put on, nearly as much as a yard of this, which is 

 yd. & H wide. If you should fancy it, I can procure 

 that which is variegated in colour white and red, and 

 by forwarding to me the plan of your floor, Sir, I can 

 have it made immediately. The making is an exclusive 

 charge. English painted cloth costs about 3 dollars pr. 

 square yd and American I am told is scarcely ever 

 used.^' 



In a postscript, Claxton added: "When these cloths 

 are made they are strongly bound and are said to 

 wear well." There need be no question about the 

 origin of the matting because Jefferson's notation of 

 Claxton's letter provides the answer. The mem- 

 oranduin by Jefferson, written on a piece of paper 

 halved lengthwise, reads: 



Prices 



floor cloth, English painted canvas costs 3d[ollars]. 



pr. sq. yard 

 the canvas itself painted costs id. pr. sq. yard 

 Chinese straw floor cloth costs 67 cents pr. sq. yard 

 See Claxton's letter[?] from Phila. June 13, 1802^- 



The matting was not purchased, however, for as 

 Jefferson explained in his reply of June 18 to Claxton: 



The samples of straw floor cloth are beautiful, especially 

 the finest one, but would not answer for the purpose I 

 have in view which is to lay down on the floor of a dining 



*' Letter to Thom;is Jefferson, W.ishington, from Thomas 

 Claxton, Philadelphia, June 13, 1802. (MS, Massachusetts 

 Historical Society.) The straw-matting samples are no longer 

 with the letter. Reprinted in M.\rie G. Kimball, "The 

 Original Furnishings of the White House, Part II," Antiques 

 (July 1929), vol. 16, p. 36. 



'2 Memorandum by Thomas Jefferson from Thomas Claxton's 

 letter of June 13, 1802. (MS, Library of Congress, Manuscripts 

 Division.) Thomas Jefferson papers, 1802. 



PAPER 59: FLOOR COVERINGS IN 18TH-CENTURY AMERICA 



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