{"id":663,"date":"2013-04-21T16:51:15","date_gmt":"2013-04-21T16:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/napervillehardwood.com\/blog\/?p=663"},"modified":"2026-01-07T04:44:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T04:44:07","slug":"wood-floors-in-the-1920s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/napervillehardwood.com\/blog\/wood-floors-in-the-1920s\/","title":{"rendered":"A Blast from the Past: Wood Floors in the 1920\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"

In our last article I featured a couple of old hardwood floor brochures from the late 1800\u2019s<\/a>. For this post I want to show you another couple of brochures that I found from the 1920\u2019s. It can be fun to look through these and see what they did back then, where our industry has come from and to see all the advancements made throughout the years.<\/p>\n

\"Vintage<\/p>\n

<\/span>The 1920\u2019s were a time of economic boom after World War 1 had ended. They were called the roaring 20\u2019s for a reason. Music, fashion, lifestyles, (hairstyles) and culture were all going through major changes. Jazz, automobiles, telephones and motion pictures from Hollywood were all the rage.<\/p>\n

It was also a big transition period for housing and architecture.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

There were a lot of changes and improved standards in residential home building. New materials and building methods meant houses were easier to heat and cool, were more hygienic, and far better suited to modern living.<\/p>\n

Oak hardwood flooring really came into its own during this period.<\/p>\n

New manufacturing processes meant better milled and more stable flooring was available (you can see an illustration of new milling techniques a few pictures below). Cool patterns like herringbone, chevron and basket weave were popular with wealthier homeowners\u2026 as well as parquet and strip flooring for \u2018average\u2019 homes.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when this brochure came onto the scene. For those with good eyes you can see it\u2019s also from right here in Chicago in 1920\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Vintage<\/p>\n

Below you can see the different types and grades of oak flooring offered back then and the suggestions of which type of application they would be suited to\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Use<\/p>\n

For those that didn\u2019t have money floating around like many of the high flyers in the 20\u2019s, there are suggestions on how to have the \u2018look\u2019 of high-end flooring for substantial savings \u2013 up to 40% in savings!<\/p>\n

Apparently this was quite a common practice in those days as you can read in a section of the brochure below\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Economical<\/p>\n

So that explains why your 1920-30\u2019s home in the Chicagoland area may have two different grades of wood in the same room. Interesting hey.<\/p>\n

Below you can see the changes in milling techniques that provided a much better fitting floor. Tongue and groove milling had been around for a while, but now \u201cTongue and Groove\u201d milling on the ends of boards was available\u2026<\/p>\n

\"1920<\/p>\n

Another thing that has come a long<\/em> way since the 20\u2019s is sanding procedures and equipment. Back then pretty much everything was done by hand.<\/p>\n

Can you imagine how much work it would be to smooth a 1,000sqft floor with a hand scraper?<\/p>\n

\"Scraping<\/p>\n

Even the power scrapers in the 1920\u2019s weren\u2019t easy to use and they weighed a ton. Check out this old ad (again in Chicago!) from 1915\u2026<\/p>\n

\"1915<\/p>\n

Can you imagine the weight of that contraption on the right?<\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t be for a few more years until more affordable and truly portable sanding machines would come onto the market. (Maybe in another blog post it would be fun to show the progression of hardwood floor sanding machines. I have quite a few old ads for these too).<\/p>\n

Another thing that has definitely changed since the 20\u2019s is the use of dangerous products on floors such as gasoline.<\/p>\n

Have a look at the process they suggested for wood floor filler\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Suggestions<\/p>\n

Probably the most obvious changes and advancements in the hardwood flooring industry since the 1920\u2019s have been in protective finishes and coatings.<\/p>\n

In the snippet above from 1920 you can see the recommendation of shellac, wax or varnish as the choice finishes to use on wood floors. And again in 1921, the booklet below titled \u201cThe Perfect Floor\u201d has the same suggestions\u2026<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

These finishes had severe limitations though.<\/p>\n

In the highlighted section above it says this about Shellac Finish \u2013 \u201cIf water has been spilled upon the floor, turning it white in spots\u201d<\/i>\u2026 and then suggestions are given on how to clean the floor, but it continues with\u2026 \u201cDo not repeat this operation too often nor too vigorously, or the surface finish will be entirely destroyed.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

That was the problem with wood floor finishes in those days\u2026 they were very finicky and needed to be constantly maintained and re-waxed.<\/p>\n

As we saw in the previous article<\/a>, this was a laborious task done with a heavy and awkward wax polishing brush.<\/p>\n

But in the 20\u2019s, electric versions of these brushes started to become popular. It\u2019s fun to see the marketing they used for them. Here\u2019s an ad from 1925 from the Ponsell Floor Machine Company\u2026<\/p>\n

\"1925<\/p>\n

\u201cNo exertion whatever\u201d \u2013 \u201cNo skill needed\u201d \u2013 \u201cNo effort = No muss\u201d \u2013 \u201cFive times faster\u201d<\/i>\u2026 who could resist purchasing one of these for their floors?<\/p>\n

Here are two more ads from 1926 for these \u2018Electric Floor Polishers\u2019\u2026<\/p>\n

\"1926<\/p>\n

\u2026so simple even a child could do it.<\/p>\n

Compared to hand polishing I\u2019m sure they were far easier. They still didn\u2019t do anything to better the finishes used though, just make it easier to maintain them.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another 1920\u2019s brochure from the same wood floor and furniture finishing supply company as the ads above\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Johnson<\/p>\n

I love the suggestion they have on Page 6 for waxing dance floors\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Johnson<\/p>\n

\u2026 \u201cSimply sprinkle the Wax lightly over the floor, and the feet of the dancers will spread it, polishing the floor and making a perfect dancing surface.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

What a great idea.<\/p>\n

From now on we should host hardwood floor finishing \u2018Dance\u2019 parties for our clients lol.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Late 20\u2019s and Beyond\u2026<\/h4>\n

By the late 1920\u2019s wood floors started to have major competition from linoleum floors, which offered far less maintenance and hassle. To combat this, varnishes were reformulated with resins to improve hardness, durability and cure time.<\/p>\n

By the 1930\u2019s polyurethane was becoming popular and the old wax and shellac floors were coming to the end of their long \u2013 and very useful \u2013 days.<\/p>\n

Wood floors continued to be extremely popular through the 40\u2019s, especially during the housing boom after World War II. Then in the 50\u2019s, carpet and vinyl began to be more affordable as well as being much easier to maintain. And that\u2019s when the bottom fell out of the wood floor market\u2026 which is a shame because that\u2019s when some of the best machinery started to come out to make this job a whole lot easier.<\/p>\n

Since then there\u2019s been some amazing advancements in hardwood floor finishes.<\/p>\n

Unlike in the 20\u2019s and prior where high maintenance wax or shellac were your only options, we now have such a huge choice of high quality, low hassle finishes to choose from. And hardwood is again the top choice of flooring for homeowners.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In Conclusion\u2026<\/h4>\n

That was fun to have a glimpse into the past.<\/p>\n

If you happen to be lucky enough to have one of those original old hardwood floors from a previous generation, enjoy it and appreciate its history and all the wonderful character it holds.<\/p>\n

These floors are priceless.<\/p>\n

Think of all the effort and backbreaking work someone spent installing them without power tools, scraping them smooth by hand and then hand waxing them. You\u2019re walking on history.<\/p>\n

Also, as you think about previous generations, be very thankful that your weekend doesn\u2019t have to be consumed with stripping your floors with turpentine, filling the gaps with a concoction of filler and gasoline and then re-applying wax over them.<\/p>\n

\"Waxing<\/p>\n

And last but not least\u2026<\/p>\n

[Start Rant]<\/i><\/strong> If you have incredible floors from the 1800\u2019s, the 20\u2019s or even the 50\u2019s \u2013 Please don\u2019t hand them over to the cheapest \u2018floor sander\u2019 in town who will end up destroying them by grinding them into oblivion!<\/i> These historic antique floors need to be preserved and treated with the utmost care, not just handed over to the lowest bidder who has no appreciation for them and is only thinking of getting them done as fast as possible so he can move onto his next job. [End Rant]<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh and one more thing to wrap up this post\u2026 if you happen to have any historic floor machines, advertisements or pamphlets\/brochures lying around that you don\u2019t need\u2026 we\u2019d be more than happy to provide a safe home for them.<\/p>\n

Ps. I found a great write-up of the history of wood floors over the last 100 years. It goes into a lot more detail than this article. If you\u2019d like to read it you can find it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

Updated Jan 2026<\/p>\n

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