Starting the week off with a major historical discovery that I have never seen nor heard of before: Formica wall tiles. And not only that, they are New Old Stock in their original boxes, with instructions, saved in the nick of time from going into the garbage at the ReStore, two favorite patterns — Camellia Sequin (gold glitter on a pink background) and Nassau. Howdy hudee to Mike, who saved these rare and wonderful 1959 Formica wall tiles and is generously immortalizing them with us in our website “museum.”
Formica wall tiles in their original boxes
Mike writes:
Hi Pam — Your site is definitely one of the best out there and I often refer to it when researching things. As you are such a great reference for vintage laminates I thought I would share a find of mine – 3 full boxes of Formica wall tiles from approximately 1959, one box is the pink with gold splatter, 2 boxes are the same color mix from the Nassau line. I’m not sure what I plan on doing with them yet, but if you would like a few pieces for your library I would be happy to send them. I have photos of the tiles (10×10″) and boxes if you would like them also.
Oh my word, I about jump out of my skin, so excited about this find. I’ve never seen, heard or read about these Formica wall tiles. Although… remember those Lam-o-Tiles I featured in 2015? The Formica and the Lam-o’s seem like a very similar concept: An easy-to-install, easy-to-clean plastic alternative to ceramic tile or paint. They must have been something the industry tried, but discarded for lack of market interest.
Rare vintage Formica wall tiles — in their original packaging — saved from the dumpster!
Hi Pam, here are a few more photos for you to choose from if you blog. It’s funny that something as seemingly common as laminate is more coveted than many pieces of quality furniture that I’ve found, but it’s so hard to find. We have a 1951 Boles Aero travel trailer that we are refurbishing, which is why I was looking for materials at a local Restore where I found them — they thought they were just trash and were headed to the bin! Which I’m afraid is what happens to a lot of this stuff 🙁 Also, a question – I’ve seen some mention while researching the patterns that the Nassau patterns are a Raymond Loewy design, just wondering if you know if that is true or not?Cheers, mike