Ahhhh! The 1950s! Poodle skirts and pony tails. TV dinners and onion soup dip. America looked at the world through rose colored glasses...and also through increasingly large "picture windows." (Never mind that the view from those giant expanses of glass was, more often than not, the picture window of the almost-identical house across the street.)

Those windows were generously swathed, ceiling-to-floor in colorful, imaginative, ingeneously designed draperies...and the most popular 1950s fabric of choice was an interesting momie weave cotton we've come to know as barkcloth.

"Barkcloth" became the generic term used to describe a twisted, two-ply weave with a nubby, bark-like texture. The term started to appear in America's trade catalogs and retail advertisements in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The fabric itself had actually been around for a couple of decades before that, only then it was known as "textured cretonne" or sometimes "textured damask." But back even before that, the indigenous people of Hawaii had made real bark cloth from the bark of a mulberry tree. The bark was beaten into a soft, pulpy pliable cloth-like surface which was then painted or printed with carved blocks. The Hawaiians called their bark cloth "kapa." "Ka" means "the," and "pa" means "beaten thing."

The barkcloth that collectors look for today is recognized by its peculiar weave. It looks almost as though it might have tiny twigs or little seeds scattered about in it. The effect is achieved by using specially twisted yarns.

Brian Walsh is a Jacksonville, Florida dealer in vintage fabric, and is the self-proclaimed "King of Barkcloth." For more than twenty years, Walsh has searched attics and storerooms, shows and shops from California to Maine and back for the best of barkcloth designs, both for his own vast personal collection of rare patterns, and for resale to other collectors and lovers of the unique fabric.

According to Walsh, design is all important. The earlier examples, those of the late 1920s and early 1930s were mostly florals, swagged or clustered. Later, in the 1930s, Art deco and the influence of ocean liners brought about a burst of tropical themes, and by the 1940s the "Carmen Mirana effect" had taken over the fabric world. Fruit and flowers and "tropical deco" complemented the newly popular rattan and bamboo furniture.

Then came the 1950s--a period which many collectors consider "Barkcloth's Golden Age." It was a decade of new forms, new technology, new materials. The ubiquitous florals, long the staple of drapery and upholstery textiles, seemed old fashioned in this new world of womb chairs and boomerang tables. Suddenly, newly affluent post war consumers searched out fabrics patterned with atomic splashes, starbursts, sputnik-like bursts of color, kidney-bean shapes and sophisticated geometrics. Barkcloth, with its easy draping qualities and sturdy durability was a worthy surface for inovative design. The stylized patterns complimented the blonde beauty of Heywood Wakefield and the avant garde designs of Herman Miller. Stylish children's rooms displayed draperies and bedspeads of barkcloth featuring cowboys or circus motifs and department stores nationwide advertised handsome, long-wearing draperies for as little as $1.98 a pair. A bit pricier, but still amazingly reasonable by today's standards, were fabrics inspired by and in some cases actually created by such art icons as Miro, Dali and Wright.

Vintage barkcloth shows up regularly these days at shows, in shops, and yes--at yard sales, church fairs and rummage sales. A pair of 1950s vintage short drapes in a Florida shop were marked $50, while a pair of 1940s era, long draperies with tropical ferns and egrets was listed on eBay at $595 for the pair. Barkcloth, still on the bolt, is sometimes offered for sale. Vintage yardage in "like new" condition, depending on the rarity of the pattern and quality of the weave, might sell in the $100-$200 range per yard.

Sometimes old barkcloth draperies may have damage from sun or nicotine. But they can be happily recycled by cutting away the worn, torn or stained parts and fashioning them into pillows or totes. Some folks even frame particularly interesting barkcloth remnants.

Brian Walsh makes wonderful big pillows and handsome totes and messenger bags from his own enormous collection of vintage barkcloth. A Brian Walsh pillow might sell in the $100-$200 range, while bags are generally in the $85 to $185 range. Brian says "My pillows do more for a room than a painting." Many of his pillows utilize two compatible vintage patterns, so that they can be reversed for a different look.

It stands to reason that a fifty-something-year-old fabric which has become a popular collectible would be reproduced. And indeed it has. A major manufacturer of reproduction barkcloth, faithfully duplicating many of the very best originals, is Full Swing Textile Company. Their repro 100% cotton barkcloth in 54" widths is around $30 to $50 a yard from retailers or online. It has the look and feel of the originals and is popular for both draperies and upholstery. Florida dealer Marcia Hamburger of Echoes lnteriors offers a large selection of Full Swing, along with a score of other repro fabrics. (Echoes specializes in Heywood Wakefield and Cloud furniture.)

To learn more about collectible barkcloth, ask your librarian or bookseller for Fabulous Fabrics of the 50s (and Other Terrific Textiles of the 20s, 30s and 40s) by Gideon Bosker, Michele Mancini and John Gromstad. It is a beautiful book. (Chronicle Books -$22.95) Brian Walsh's website is www.hipasbury.com and Full Swing Textiles' website is www. fullswingonline. Echoes Interiors' website is www.cloudfurniture-com

Barkcloth - One Terrific Textile

Carol J. Perry

Vertical floral patterns were popular with decorations of the 1930s & 40s. Here Brian Walsh displays a drapery panel.

Reproduction barkcloth in the "Layla" pattern was $35/yard at Echoes in St. Petersburg, FL

Handsome bags made from vintage barkcloth range in price from $95-$195 at a recent Florida show

A 1950s barkcloth halter with Hawaiian label and coconut shell buttons was a yard sale find at 25¢

Vintage Heywood Wakefield "Ashcroft" rocking chair, upholstered in reproduction barkcloth in "Layla" pattern at Echoes

This rare example of vintage barkcloth depicts a panther

Detail from a vintage drapery panel in the "Sago Palm" pattern.

**NOTE: ANTIQUE SHOPPE NEWSPAPER DOES NOT SELL ANTIQUES OF ANY SORT. WE ARE STRICTLY A PUBLISHING COMPANY AND PRINT ARTICLES ON VARIOUS ANTIQUES**