Epic: 2,000+ words exploring this piney puzzle
Pickwick Pine! We recently learned that this is the name for the what we believe was the most common profile of knotty pine paneling in the 1940s and 1950s — and possibly, for many decades prior. Since we love to chronicle the almost-forgotten terms for the beloved decor within mid-century modern and modest houses, we dove into this subject and today, explore the origins of and more information about pickwick pine paneling. Oh and yes: We identify some sources where you can still buy pickwick pine paneling today.
What is Pickwick Pine paneling?
“Pickwick” refers to the unique edge profile of each piece of this tongue-in-groove pine paneling. Stare at the profile edge from the side and you can see: Pickwick consists of two beads with a hollow in between on one side of each board… this pickwick side also includes the tongue… and on the other side of the board, there is a groove.
In the industry, this profile is known as pattern “WP-2” — see the diagram above.
The catalog we found from 1960 also called WP-2 “butterfly pattern” (this terminology spotted in the yellow area of text in the image above).
So now we have three different terms to identify this paneling profile: Pickwick… WP-2… or butterfly. But, we’ll call it Pickwick, for sure. Buy your boards, let them rest in the house for a few days to adjust to the humidity, start piecing the boards together, coat them in wood conditioner and then lay on the liquid bug poop — aka Amber Shellac, and voila, you got yer room full o’ knotty pine — just like at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. And likely, their grandma and grandpa’s, too — we have some reason this profile goes back to the early 20th century — maybe even earlier.
Today, it seems that you can get Pickwick panels that are 4″, 6″, 8″ or 10″ wide. Looking at the photo from Mod Betty above, I think that back in the day, panels might even have been wider — 12″? What do you think? Note, The “face width” — the part showing — of any size panel will be less than its nominal width (the size of the board before it is assembled), because tongues get nested into grooves, making the “face width” less wide.
Personally, I think I like the wider boards. If you use boards that are too narrow — like the 4″ — and it starts to look like bead board.
Also, I like the idea of using randow widths and piecing them together. That said, I do not know if folks would have done this in the wayback time machine days.
Why is it called “pickwick” pine paneling? We need help!
But.. whence the name “Pickwick”? We do not know. However, we have some hints at a start:
- In 1837, Charles Dickens published his first comic novel, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club — also known as The Pickwick Papers. The name of the protagonist was Samuel Pickwick, and his club consisted of fellow Pickwickians — they got into a lot of adventures that went… awry. The 1891 book History of Pickwick says (page 12-13) that Dickens took the “unusual and quaint” name Pickwick from the family that ran the coaches between Bath and London. Moses Pickwick was the coach proprietor’s name, this 1917 thesis says, pointing out that Dickens liked whimsical names for his characters. Following on the success of the book, the word “Pickwickian” took on a meaning of its own. Merriam-Webster defines Pickwickian “marked by simplicity and generosity.” There’s also a connotation of pleasant plumpness. AND, see the original cover illustration — the title “Pickwick Club” seems to drawn out in characters that look like pieces of wood! Based on all this, I will guess: Whoever named the profile for this knotty pine superstar pattern chose the name after The Pickwick Papers to underscore the simple every-person beauty of this pine paneling and its decorative profile. Or, maybe they just liked the whimsical word and its allusion to historical England.
- Interestingly, the word ‘wick‘ is Old English for house or village and morphed into the Greek oikos, which morped into the word ecology and economy. Could it be that Moses Pickwick was from a village called Pick?
We welcome any reader sleuthing on this question — this pickwick pine puzzle will now perturb Pam until an answer is apprehended. So now — just like we wrestled the etymology of the term “hudee” ring to the ground — we’re on a pursuit to answer the question:
“Why — absolutely positively with primary proof — is it called pickwick pine paneling”? Help!
Update We have an answer for why this was called “Pickwick”:
Steven Jarvis, author of the forthcoming novel, Death and Mr. Pickwick, has what appears to be a pretty darn good answer to our question in this comment posted to the blog overnight Jan. 14, 2015:
Hi everyone,
I have done a great deal of research on The Pickwick Papers, and although I do not know the specific reason for the naming of “Pickwick pine panelling”, what I can say is that the name “Pickwick” was for almost a century the most powerful advertising tool in the world, and all kinds of products and businesses were called “Pickwick”. Most commonly, it was applied to food and drink, because there is so much eating and drinking in Dickens’s Pickwick Papers, but many other uses were found for the name. The point is that Dickens’s novel was SO popular, that it acted as a kind of “permanent advertisement”, and any business calling itself “Pickwick” would automatically give itself pleasant associations. The great era of Pickwick-naming came to an end in about 1930, but even today there are businesses that call themselves “Pickwick”, and it is not always obvious why. For those who are interested, my research led to my writing a novel, which will be out later this year, about the whole Pickwick phenomenon, It’s called “Death and Mr Pickwick”. Further information is on the website http://www.deathandmrpickwick.com
Well, howdy do, mystery solved. Thank you, Steven, we will feature your book when it comes out — and I for one plan to read it. Hey, I’m also going to my library today to get a copy of The Pickwick Papers to read. I feel so smart and literary.
Pickwick pine paneling was massively popular in midcentury America
There is no doubt in our mind that pickwick pine paneling was massively popular in American homes after World War II — we will venture to guess it was the #1 most popular pine paneling pattern. Some googling found this reference to pickwick pine — a 1956 ad in the Nashua, New Hampshire Telegraph. It encouraged homeowners to use the paneling in their den, playroom, living room or kitchen. In nearly seven years of blogging, we also have seen it used in basements, attics, porches — even bathrooms and ceilings — see our 2012 uploader of readers’ interiors full o’ the knotty.
Why the popularity of the decorative pickwick pine pattern in midcentury America?
I will attribute it to longtime, continued interest in Early American interior decoration. Building homes, early Americans would have used the materials at hand — and in the early colonies, that would have meant a lot of pine. A LOT OF PINE. These trees blanketed Northeast America (more on this subject further down). The Wikipedia page on pinus strobus also says:
Old growth pine in the Americas, of various Pinus species, was a highly desired wood since huge, knot-free boards were the rule rather than the exception. Pine was common and easy to cut, thus many colonial homes used pine for paneling, floors and furniture. Pine was also a favorite tree of loggers since pine logs can still be processed in a lumber mill a year or more after being cut down. In contrast, most hardwood trees such as cherry, maple, oak, and ash must be cut into 1” thick boards immediately after felling or large cracks will develop in the trunk which can render the wood worthless. — Sourced to Ling, H. 2003. The Eastern White Pine. Native Plant Society of NJ Newsletter Winter 2003 pp 2–3.
Fast forward to the middle of the 20th century, fast-growing pine remained an easy wood to obtain. It’s a relatively soft wood — so it’s easy for lumber mills, pattern makers and installers to work with. During the postwar housing boom, the pine industry promoted its use with lots of advertising. It was very accessible for handy, thrifty do-it-yourselfers.
Pine — including knotty pine — is a classic, vernacular material that was critically important, it seems, to many generations of American homes for many generations.
Moreover, in midcentury America, knotty pine was not only considered practical — it was downright fashionable, said to to Ed Vorhees, who has owned Tidewater Lumber in Greer, S.C. since 1960. Vorhees knows this material well — and his company still mills and sells pickwick pine paneling. I asked Vorhees if he knew where the name Pickwick Pine came from, but he did not know. I also asked him if he knew how long the pattern had been available America, and while he did not know, he thought it had been available for quite a long time — since the early 20th century, at minimum.
Above: Yes, the 1960 catalog that we found says Americans have lived with knotty pine for generations….
Classic knotty pine comes from pinus strobus — mountain white pine
Vorhees told me that classic knotty pine paneling was and still is made from pinus strobus — a soft white pine that once blanketed Eastern North American and which today continues to be grown all along the Appalachian Trail. (Wiki also says these trees are the tallest in North America. Don’t I know it: I think I have two or three ginormous, 60-year-old pinus strobus outside my house, poised to fall on the roof when the next big wind blows. Ugh.)
I think I am understanding — from these various sources — that old growth pinus strobus was much more clear — free of knots — than new growth pinus strobus today. That’s because old growth trees got so big. Newer growth trees today, when cut, display many more of the knots — which are a result of the many branches that grow on a pinus strobus. As the old growth forests were exhausted (only 1% of old growth remains today, the wiki says,) the fast growth new growth continued to be used. But, the knots made it more useful for surface decorative treatment — like paneling — as opposed to other applications requiring clear knot-free lumber.
Other genuses of pine — most notably those from the West Coast — do not have as many knots, Vorhees said (I think; my notes are bad on this detail, sorry.) This made them better for features like doors and windows. Vorhees says that America was flooded with West Coast pine doors and windows “for years and years.”
That said, the catalog we have for 1960 pine paneling — published by the Western Pine Region Mills — shows the pickwick pattern profile in use — and applicable to 10 different species of woods from Western forests. So pine paneling — including knotty pine panelling and including pickwick pine pattern panelling — was not exclusively made from pinus strobus. There were a variety of species, and we can surmise from this marketing material that lumber mills could use any species to mill any pattern, depending on the market.
Where to buy pickwick pine paneling today
I didn’t research this specifically, but I tend to believe that new growth white pine boards are still quite abundant in America. Perhaps you can find a local woodworking or milling company to get their hands on some and mill you some pickwick pine paneling? Or, we found some companies online that actually had “pickwick pine” somewhere in their text so that it would come up in search:
- Ed Voorhee’s company Tidewater Lumber and Moulding, Inc. in Greenville, S.C. offers pickwick paneling. The company buys their own pine… dries it… then mills it. They deliver using their own trucks within 150 miles and will also ship. The company has been in business since 1960.
- We also found Middleton Lumber, located in Middleton, Pennsylvania, which offers pickwick in a variety of widths.
- And, we even found it available on Amazon — Pickwick pine paneling from Capitol City Lumber (* affiliate link)
Buy vintage panels — or vintage pine milled into pickwick
- Is the pine from yee olden days better than the pine made today? One expert we talked to — Craig Carver, owner of Fine Reclamation Works — said “yes”. In our lead photo for this story, we featured Pickwick Pine panels milled by Fine Reclamation Works using vintage knotty pine salvaged from beams in an old New York mill. Carver told us that me had thought the beams were heart pine. Heart pine is harder than white pine and makes wonderful flooring — it’s very desirable among homeowners today — and the older the better. Alas, he said, the beams were the more prosaic white pine, so instead of milling them into flooring, he milled them into old timey Pickwick. “Old white pine is better than new white pine,” he told us. “It has more character.”
- If you’re lucky, you might also find Pickwick pine paneling at your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore, salvage yard or even on Craigslist. Since salvaged board has been previously installed and removed — sometimes more carefully than others — there will be nail holes and possible chipping to deal with. Sometimes that finish can be beat to heck, too…. Even so, using salvaged Pickwick could yield an authentic look for less. Here’s some Pickwick pine for sale in Dallas, for example.
So there you go, dear readers: Pickwick Pine.
Did you enjoy today’s class?
Special thanks to Kate for lots of the research that also went into this article.
Stephen Jarvis says
Hi everyone
I have done a great deal of research on The Pickwick Papers, and although I do not know the specific reason for the naming of “Pickwick pine panelling”, what I can say is that the name “Pickwick” was for almost a century the most powerful advertising tool in the world, and all kinds of products and businesses were called “Pickwick”. Most commonly, it was applied to food and drink, because there is so much eating and drinking in Dickens’s Pickwick Papers, but many other uses were found for the name. The point is that Dickens’s novel was SO popular, that it acted as a kind of “permanent advertisement”, and any business calling itself “Pickwick” would automatically give itself pleasant associations. The great era of Pickwick-naming came to an end in about 1930, but even today there are businesses that call themselves “Pickwick”, and it is not always obvious why. For those who are interested, my research led to my writing a novel, which will be out later this year, about the whole Pickwick phenomenon, It’s called “Death and Mr Pickwick”. Further information is on the website http://www.deathandmrpickwick.com
pam kueber says
This is fantastic to know, Stephen! I will add your comment to the story proper! And I will plan on buying the book — I’ll even feature it on the blog, let me know when it’s out!!! Thank you and good luck!!!!!
Stephen Jarvis says
That’s brilliant, Pam. The book will be out on May 21st in the UK and June 23rd in the USA. You can see links to the British and American editions at http://www.deathandmrpickwick.com
pam kueber says
Thanks! The story is updated!
Mary Elizabeth says
I’m looking forward to the book, too! Mystery and retro renovation, that’s my happy place. 🙂
LAURA MOEGENBURG says
We have a 1950’s ranch with vertical PickWick Knotty Pine Paneled Basement Rec Room. I want to go with a retro look when redecorating the room. Years ago we installed in floor heat and ceramic tile. We did replace all the scalloped edging and old ceiling lights. Iwant to replace the old 12×12 tile ceiling which is full of holes and fluorescent lights. I cannot seem to envision the right replacement ceiling and lighting. The ceiling is only 7 feet tall. The old bar has the old red vinyl counter.
pam kueber says
Hmmm…. typically 1950s homes have task lighting rather than lots of ceiling lights. A single ceiling fixture in the middle of the room (coppertone or wrought iron) supplemented by sconce lighting and of course, lamps, likely would be the way I’d go.
Also see our story on square recessed lighting – that’s an option. For useful illumination, though, I would prefer a ceiling light….
Guy H. says
I visited a friend who had just moved into a new house. They had just finished painting the den white.
I asked what color it was and he told me it was wood paneling. I told him about my love of wood paneling and he said “yeah, but this wasn’t even good wood. It had all kinds of knots in it.”
I almost cried.
I bet it was beautiful before.
pam kueber says
ugh
Mary Elizabeth says
So sad! 🙁
Joe Felice says
I’d cry, too. I’d love to get some of that “ugly” paneling for my dining room. When are people going to learn that knots=character? And that this is the original allure of the wood?
Mary Elizabeth says
Michelle, you should read all the previous back and forth comments about painting or refinishing the paneling before you decide. Pam pointed out that it’s hard to sand the whole thing down to paint or refinish because the dark finish wants to stick in the grooves. Another reader pointed out that after her paneling had been sanded and white washed, the knots started to bleed.
That being said, I did successfully paint a Pickwick pine paneled mud room, which had been made out of an enclosed breezeway. The Retro Gods didn’t strike me dead, probably because the room was in such bad shape. Three walls were covered in non-matching (color and width) paneling scraps, apparently left over from other projects The flat paneled wood ceiling was actually stained a chocolate brown color, and one of the walls was not paneled but sheetrocked and painted an off white. We had to tear down and replace one wall because we were putting an addition on the house. Then we lightly sanded, washed and dried the remaining walls, and painted the whole room a vanilla color, The tile floor was already white. Then we put down an old Belgian oriental style carpet that covers most of the room. The effect as you come in is that you are entering a summer cottage.
My personal rule of thumb when fixing up any house I’ve lived in is not to start with something you can’t undo. Some of the darkness of the paneling may be due to years of accumulated smoke and grime. When you prepare to move into your house, wash the paneled walls and doors thoroughly with a solution of mild soap made for wood, such as Murphy’s. Dry thoroughly with microfiber rags. For any scratches or dings, get a kit of colored wax pencils, sold in the hardware store for furniture repair. Follow the instructions on the package. If the wood looks dull after it has been washed, use a good kitchen cabinet wax and buff thoroughly. Then live with the paneling for a year or so. If you find it impossible to love after that time, consult with your local paint store expert to find out the best primer/sealer to use prior to painting.
Michelle N says
Thanks for the tips. Looking forward to putting some elbow grease into that room!! I think you’re right, Murphy’s is my best bet for now.
Michelle N says
We are getting ready to move in to a house that was built in 1925. It has had many additions and renovations through the years. The mudrooms is covered in Pickwick pine, and all of the doors on the second floor are made out of it (they’re probably 3-4 inches thick). I was wondering if it is possible/practical to stain it a lighter color, or should I just give it a good cleaning and decorate around it?
Shelby says
I have had a hate relationship with the Pickwick pine in my living room/dining room. Not any more! Now that I see it as a remnant of a time gone by, especially one that should work with my mid-century sensibilities, I’m going to give it another chance. The people who lived here before me white washed the pine. Which is terrible. The pine has turned a kind of lavendar with the wash. The knots bleed too. I suspect they must have sanded any original finish off of it. I’ve often thought of sanding or chemically removing the wash and restaining it. I admit to also considering painting it. The house was built in 1934 and I’m sure it’s original. You may get a kick out of this: it’s all around the exterior as well as the freestanding garage. I’ve always wondered about indoor/outdoor panelling. What were they thinking?
pam kueber says
The ’80s made them do it.
Mary Elizabeth says
Shelby, it sounds like a terrible mess. That the knots would still be bleeding sap after all these years may seem very odd, but I lived in a 1978 condo that had exterior knotty vertical siding of what was supposed to be redwood originally but was of various indeterminate species. The siding continued to drip the whole 25 years I lived there. It was as if the trees from which the boards were cut wanted to escape back into nature. It was finally covered over with vinyl siding.
My experience with such decisions as yours–to strip and refinish or paint–is that it is necessary to start by talking to the professional person at the paint store with whom I have developed a mentoring relationship. I’m not talking about a paint department in a hardware store, but a store such as Benjamin Moore or Sherman Williams that specializes in high quality paint. Lou, the guy I met 35 years ago, was the owner of one of those paint stores that sell primarily to professional painters, and over the years he gave me excellent advice on every project, “knotty” or otherwise. Consulting with him before picking up a paint or wallpaper brush saved me a lot of grief.
At any rate, I think the people who “lavender washed” your paneling probably sanded off any sealant that was put on the knots to keep them from leaking. That may explain the color change. Before either painting or refinishing, ask your consultant for a recommendation for a sealant or other remedy for the leaking. Also, if you decide to paint, ask him or her if a milk paint wash would be feasible. It’s an old-fashioned and environmentally friendly treatment that would go with your 1930s house. I have used it successfully on new and old knotty pine walls and furniture. At any rate, good luck!
Yarmouth Cindy says
The large kitchen of my 1952 ranch is entirely Pickwick pine in random widths, painted white by someone else. The dining area end of the kitchen only goes up to chair rail level. (pictures on my blog) I do have one of the original cabinet doors in rather poor condition that was left unpainted after a remodel. I admit I prefer a white kitchen but I hate to paint good wood so I’m kind of glad someone else did it. An older friend of ours told us about the Pickwick name when we first moved in. I don’t think he knew anything about the origin though. I did read the Pickwick Papers as a kid but didn’t make the connection. Interesting!
Joan Barth says
Pam, Had to add my thoughts, as I had successfully found a mail order source for the paneling through you. My house was built in 1939. It has the pickwick pine everywhere EXCEPT the bedrooms, baths and kitchen. The finish in the living room, dining room and enclosed porch is a light color wash of cream. This allows for the knots to show through. I am contemplating moving a few walls and was excited to see you have sources for the paneling, as our local lumber yard went out of business a few years back. Thank you so much for your efforts!
Mary Elizabeth says
Joan, I remember relatives’ houses that were built in the 1920s or 1930s and had the pine paneling and kitchen cabinets of the same material. They had the cream-colored wash, which was done with milk paint, commonly used on furniture and other surfaces. I chose to paint the new knotty pine island in my knotty pine kitchen rather than have more of the amber shellac finish in the room.
When you are ready to ready to put up your new paneling, you can get milk paint samples to see if you can match what is already in your house. Since it’s water based, you can dilute it to create the texture you desire.
If you search, you can still find milk paint today (pre-mixed or ready-mixed) in a variety of traditional colors. See the sources below:
http://www.realmilkpaint.com/
http://www.milkpaint.com/
http://www.woodcraft.com
Also, if you search on YouTube, you can find a video with instructions. I didn’t use the video because I had already done this finish before, but it looks really clear. Hope this helps!
Kim Campbell says
Pretty interesting! I love knotty pine and hope I can have a house with it someday. AND I then got curious about the Hudee Ring and read that one too!
pam kueber says
You get bonus points today!
Nina says
In my hometown of Far Rockaway, NY there used to a restaurant called The Pickwick completely paneled in…you guessed it. I am thinking now they took the name from the wall covering product as much as from the Dickens book. They made mean charbroiled burgers and super crunchy fries.
pam kueber says
yup… I think that in googling, I found a number of pickwick-named restaurants and motels and such. Surely they were named for the pine, which as I’ve written, I’m surmising was named for the book…