Did you know that the original, generic term for fabric roller shades seems to have been “Holland shades” or simply “Hollands”? I recently purchased a bundle of vintage decorating catalogs on ebay, and buried in the bunch were these two samples of “Bancroft’s Sun-Fast Hollands” for window shades. When I noticed this archaic terminology, I went looking for more info on its history and use.
Holland shades
From vintage advertisements and other sources, it seems clear that “Holland shade” or “Hollands” was a generic term for a roller shade for much of window covering history, all the way through the middle of the 20th century.
Here is what I have pieced together:
- Before 1725, so-called Holland cloth — heavy duty linen — seems to have been commonly used to make fabric shades for windows.
- In 1725, a Scottish weaver, James Louis Robertson, started using the cloth to make window shades. According to this history — the most extensive I found — in 1774, he created a new process to make the fabric even more durable and to take on a glazed effect that was noteworthy for centuries to come. In a process that took a full 10 days — and a Newfoundland dog! — Robertson stretched and rolled and pressed the fabric until the linen threads sort-of mushed together. The fabric looked polished. The Robertson fabrics were called “Scotch Holland” shades. And, there was soon a second manufacturer, John King. Today, the Scottish Holland Blind Company makes blinds using the same basic technique (sans Newfy, I presume), although they seem to use cotton rather than linen.
- Here’s another article by Gordon that describes how the fabric was prepared. He says that Scotch Holland fabric continued in production until the 1980s!
- Despite the innovative Scottish manufacturing techniques that made this fabric and the window shades famous, the narrower term “Holland shades” seems to be the one that stuck.
- By the 18th century, Hollands were popularized into other European countries. See an 18th century example of a “curtain paper” in the Cooper-Hewitt’s collection. Okay so here is where I also am confused, reading through these online clues: Were paper shades called “curtain papers” and “Hollands” only referred to cloth? I will say: Yes, Hollands only refer to the polished linen shades or those that simulate that look.
- Once these caught on, other types of threads (not just linen) were also used for the shade, but the term “Holland shade” stuck, no matter what the cloth.
- This story has additional interesting history and images. Renoir painted Holland shades!
- The roller shade mechanism that we know today was not patented until 1864, when, building on his family’s earlier patents, Stewart Hartshorn (<– click that one to see the family-written history) received patent number 44,624 for an improved design introducing the rachet and gravity pawl. This design remained the standard for decades to follow. One of many Stewarts in the family lineage, this Stewart also grew to run the company business — Stewart Hartshorn Co. — which I see extant as early as 1908 and which grew quite large and prosperous. I cannot find any information online about when the company ceased manufacturing, I can see it up until 1939 in the family history. Interestingly: This Hartshorn ad calls the cloth they were using a different fabric that they dubbed “Joanna Cloth”.
Above: A 1936 copyright entry in the Library of Congress for Bancroft’s Sun-Fast Holland. This story indicates that Bancroft Hollands were made with cotton. Here’s another book with more history about Bancroft and their processes. Note: My Bancroft samples do not “feel” like fabric — they feel very plasticized. Its seems that they were not stingy with the pyroxylinglazing.
So could you follow all that? So let’s not call them window shades or roller blinds any more — let’s revive Hollands!
Other archaic terms we’ve researched — and before you click through — test your Retro Renovation knowledge — do you know what home products they refer to?:
- Hudee WHAT?
- Pickwick WHAT?
- Fingerblock WHAT?
JON MCCREARY says
Where can I buy the parts to replace the clutch in a Hartshorn blind??? Help!
Pam Kueber says
Yikes, I don’t even understand the question. You win this week!
JON MCCREARY says
Well, inside the wooden roller of the Hartshorn Blind (made during the late 1800s and early 1900’s) is a long spring; the spring attaches on one end to a clutch, basically a very small cam and a pawl, so the clutch releases the spring and the blind rolls up. I volunteer at the Historic Fourth Ward School in Virginia City, Nevada, which was build during the Comstock Lode gold/silver boom of the late 1800’s. Today it is a museum but the “clutch” on these blinds have worn so much over the years we need to replace/repair them.