New-York tribune., 1908-01-10
4 CHINTZ REVIV4L.
French Museum Exhibits SOuUenr
of Var of Independence.
Paris. January l.

An interesting side show being Eeld in Paris
under the auspices of the City Council in the
Galliera Museum-that bjou of italian architecture
on the banks of the Seine dedicated to the deco
rative arts-contaius a curious souvenir of the
American War for independence and the syTnpa-
thetic interest taken by France in the event Thls
souvenir is of the principal EXHIBITS IN n
charming collection OF chintzes which demonstrate
the whole history of that fabric from its first in
PRODUCTION into France Europe, IN the seven
teenth century, down to the present time. This
particular piece of chnz-or, to give IT Its proper
name s'toile de Jouy'-is called THE Homage or
America to France and was made in the year
17S4 in the royal mandatory of Jouy' near YER
sailles 1t is printed in color, the soft ana
characteristic red of Jouy. and notwithstanding
the lapse of time its hues are as clear and rlch
it's outlines sharp and decided as they were
when it was first sent out from the press The
North American Indian bearing in his left hand
the Stars and Stripes. stands beneath palm tree
and salutes a classical female figure seated on
globe adorned with the feur-de-lys, which repre-
sents France.
STORY OF TOILES DE JOUY.
At the time this now historic piece of cotton
cloth was printed toies de Jouy had for over a
century been the most popular make of cotton in
France So great indeed, was its vogue that Louis
ZIV's advisers believing that the very existence
of French cloths and silks was threatened induced
the King TO a royal edict forbiddng the
manufacture of the gay co;orcd "indiennes." as
imported from India and the Levant. their variety
of design and colorflg and exotic appearance won
the instant approval of fine ladies and dand1es; the
new stuff was adopted for dresses by the women.
for dressing gowns by the men. for covering fur
niture and for curtains and hangings of all kinds
Molfere dresses his 'Rourgeois Gentilhorme in a
gown of ''indienne tradition carefully preserved
at the Comtdie FRANCHISE to-day. and in the fair
of Sa int Cermain of 1858 the booths that offered the
fabric to the customers at that annual fete did a
lively trade BY the end o the seventeenth
tury there factories for the manufacture Of
this cloth all over France and in spite of the
edfct of that year the women of the court con-
tinued 10 purchase and clothe themselves in the
dainty material. The lovely Nine Pompadour pur
chased enough of the srnuggled and now contra
band goods to furnish entirely her chateau at Belle
with 'indienne'
II was not till 1853 that the embargo was removed
from the manufacture of indienne and Immediately
factories sprang up in all parts of France The
Province of Lorraine was the home of the industry,
but the workshops of Jouy. under the management
of a young German named Oberkampf. were soon
the most famous the finest of these painted cot
tons having been made therein. Jouy chosen
as the site of this. the most important factory as
being on the banks OF the Bievre.> whose waters
were supposed TO have special properties favorable
to the preparation of the dyes.
CHINTZEs \ MIsNOMER-
To describe these beautiful ''toiles de Jouy as
chintzes is matter of fact, inaccurate what
is usually known as chintZ has highly glazed
surface: tole de Jouy is not glazed at all The
toes de Jouy of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries were, moreover. not printed at all. The
design was thrown the cloth in the same man.
ner as it in the East-by means OF a wooden
block pressed or hammered down the material
The color was laid by hand and the results OBJ
tanned by this hand work had and still have
richness of tone. beauty and permanence of fin
ish that can never be produced by machinery. 1t
was not till end of the eighteenth century that
the first copper presses were introduced at JOuy
and then they printed in single color. shown
I'm the piece called THE Homage of America TO
France"
Two schools of design hourished side by side in
those days Some of the finest pieces the toiles
de Jouy are the style of the Oriental originals
conventional floral designs. such may be seen on
Persian rugs-carried out in several colors which
are at rich and sober. Mulhouse turned
some of the best pieces of this kind The second
school has given the curious historical docu-
ments such the souvenir of American indie
pendence. pieces which reflect important current
events Some ''camaTeu.' or single colored
Indian red a subdued dun violet: others are in
three four colors- One fine piece In the
same red as the American Homage and bearing
the same date, shows in series of cleverIy drawn
and painted pictures the whole process OF manu-
facture carried on at Jouy. Among the groups
of workmen engaged on the bleaching stretching
painting. drying and finishing of the cloth is to be
seen the figure of Ooerkampf. the boss
PICTORIAL HISTORY.
Looking through the collection of ancient p;eces
OF cloth brought together in the museum is Hike
turning the leaves OF old illustrated nnae,
zine. Here. side by side with classical fables told
in pictures is the royal idyll of Louis XIV and
Louise de la Valliere set in the gardens OF Yer
sailles here again. is the first balloon ascent or
Charles and Robert. taking place before Parist,,,
public In the gardens of the Tuileries as they vers
ON August 27 I7S3 and the flight of the balloon is
depicted down to it's collapse and fall in field in
Concise before the eyes of obviously aston
ished peasant. Then there is another piece d.
pieting the Champs Elysees in 1799 i'm a beautirul
dark violet with saltimbanques and flower SELLERS
seesaws and fortune teller1 under the trees n, ,h
promenade. The opening of the nineteenth cen
tury saw the manufacture stii in its prime as "a
testified by q magnificent hunting scene in dars
siaaet on a yellow ground. in which First Empire