Product Description

Revisit those family vacations of yore through these charming, colorful tablecloths and linens. These whimsical collectibles are fun "snapshots" of America's tourist industry from the 1920s through the 1960s, as captured by enthusiastic textile designers on boldly printed cloths. Over 300 color photographs showcase state and souvenir tablecloths, towels, aprons, and scarves, all with wonderful graphics of state-related themes, popular tourist attractions, and historic events. Includes information on dating your souvenir linens, an up-to-date price guide, and a resource list of major manufacturers. A special bonus, sure to please all crafters, is a chapter with easy suggestions for creating toys, clothes, and craft items from vintage souvenir linens. This is an invaluable resource for vintage kitchen textile collectors, interior designers, and everyone interested in these enduring examples of vintage American textile design.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1220303 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

From the Author
A fun book with hundreds of examples of kitchen textiles from our wonderful United States. Boldly colored, whimsical designs that captured the hearts of our Grandmothers. Coordinates with my other book "Collector's Guide to Vintage Tablecloths", Schiffer Publishing 2002.

From the Inside Flap
What could be more symbolic of America’s past than the open road? An unbroken expanse of land with a solitary road disappearing into a vast landscape calls forth images of romantic waywardness and infinite grandeur. From the nineteenth-century "pilgrimages" to Niagara Falls to the 1950’s cowboy dude ranches, tourism has been vitally important to the development of American culture and commerce. Tourism transformed and reshaped not only the American landscape, but also our concept of America, and how we defined ourselves as "Americans". No sooner had the Wild West been "won," than tourists followed the covered wagons and railroads into the newly opened wilderness to experience the adventure, and to settle and create new opportunities for themselves and their families. Between 1830 and 1850 many new American attractions –including Niagara Falls, the White Mountains and the Adirondacks became well established as fashionable tourist tours. The creation and marketing of these attractions, the development of the adequate modes of transportation by trains and steamboats, and the growth of a leisure ethic are what made American tourism popular in the late 1800s. As these areas grew and prospered, entrepreneurs realized that they also were attractions that could also lure sightseers, provide extra income, and encourage a constant influx of new citizens. In order to take advantage of America’s new tourist economy, many communities in the United States reinvented or enhanced their own history, and roadside tourist attractions were born.

About the Author
Pamela Glasell is a vintage kitchen textile historian, who lectures, teaches and writes about vintage kitchen textiles and is the author of The Collectors Guide to Vintage Tablecloths, Schiffer publishing, 2002. She is the co-founder and President of the "Vintage Tablecloth Lover’s Club," an on-line web collector’s resource with members nationwide. She currently resides in Southern California with her husband and two children, and enjoys adding to her collection of over 600 vintage tablecloths, managing her on-line store, gramasattic.com, and working on her next collectible reference book.

Customer Reviews

Fun Reference for the Vintage Linen collector
This book is fun! lots of great pictures of vintage souvenir linens towels and aprons, tons of information on how to date them, how to care for them and an accurate price guide. Wonderful to look thru and a great refrence book. Highly recommend.