Plate No. 097 · fabric

Cretonne

Cretonne is heavy printed cotton or linen for furnishing, the matte, hard-wearing cousin of chintz, carrying the same large floral and pictorial prints but without the polished glaze. It dressed the upholstered furniture, curtains, and loose covers of the nineteenth and early twentieth century home, cheaper and more washable than glazed chintz and so more democratic. Where chintz signalled the drawing room, cretonne furnished the whole house.