![]() ![]() ![]() The screens are considered a Baltimore folk art and are still produced today, and a collection is displayed at the American Visionary Art Museum in that city. It is estimated that there were 100,000 painted screens in Baltimore at its peak, many adorning the row houses with windows at sidewalk level, where privacy was most desired. He was soon asked to paint screens for homes, and other artists jumped on the bandwagon. Painted window screens became extraordinarily popular in Baltimore, after a Czech immigrant named William Oktavec painted a screen to advertise produce in his store in 1913. ![]() From the outside, the painted scenes blocked the view inside the house, providing a level of privacy. In addition to being decorative, the screens were practical as well. Screens were painted on the outside, normally with landscape scenes, leaving the holes unobstructed. This aspect of window screens was considered so important that the Boy Scouts and other volunteer organizations would help communities install and maintain screens.Īs was the case with window shades, artists soon saw the possibilities of window screens, which were basically canvases with holes in them. Over time, the incidents of these diseases declined dramatically. Window screens not only made houses more comfortable, they also had a direct impact on health, as they kept disease-carrying insects out of homes. These can be obtained at fifteen to fifty cents a foot.” “The annoyances of spring and summer, such as flies, mosquitoes, dust, etc., can be obviated by using the wire window screens manufactured by Evans & Co., No. Screens were first advertised in the Chicago Tribune in May 1869, the advertisement reading in part: The firm of Bayley and McCluskey filed a patent in 1868 for screened windows on railroad cars, which helped to prevent sparks, cinders, and dust from entering the passenger compartments. The firm later introduced steel wire, which did not rust. Homeowners would purchase the wire cloth and then nail it to wooden window and door frames they constructed. The idea took off, and the company made the production of wire cloth a major part of its business. An enterprising employee had an idea that changed history – paint the wire cloth to prevent it from rusting, and sell it for use as window screens. The company’s business suffered during the Civil War, as they could no longer sell their products in the Southern states. Gilbert and Bennett, a Connecticut based company that made sieves, is generally credited with the invention of the modern window screen. It was the onset of the Civil War that made window screens a household word (and necessity). Advertisements for wire window screens started to appear in the 1820s and 1830s, but the idea didn’t take off. Being loosely woven, it allowed air to circulate, but it was easily torn, soiled quickly, and limited the visibility from inside. In this article, we will briefly explore the history of the window screen, and then look at how they were used at the home of John and Frances Glessner.Ĭheesecloth was sometimes used to cover windows as a way to keep out insects. But what about the humble and often overlooked window screen? Prior to its introduction during the Civil War, hot weather meant either keeping the windows and doors of a house closed, or opening them and subjecting the occupants to wasps, flies, mosquitoes, and a range of potentially infectious diseases. ![]() The light bulb, the telephone, the automobile, and the phonograph are all ranked among the greatest inventions of the 19th century. ![]()
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