Frederick Walton and the Invention of Linoleum

Frederick Walton caused a lot of financial family friction on the way to developing linoleum. And even though he believed he had revolutionized home dec, he didn't expect to be remembered.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

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• 2:17Holly Frey?

  Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of iHeart Radio.

• 2:27Holly Frey?

  Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frey.

• 2:30Tracy V. Wilson?

  And I'm Tracy V. Wilson.

• 2:32Holly Frey?

  We made a little drive-by reference to today's topic several episodes back, and I kind of hinted that he was coming. I have to confess to you, every time I have told someone I'm working on this topic, they go, boring. And I sure don't think so. Everything's interesting if you look at it at the right perspective, because Frederick Walton really changed everything in terms of home decor in the 19th century. And I really love him for that. And I just think he's an interesting bloke. And he knew that he had made this big change, that he had an impact, although he did not expect to be a famous historical figure for it. I really, really love this.

• 3:14Holly Frey?

  He once said of his work and life, quote, "Every householder can vouch for the utility and sanitary value of linoleum, and many housewives will, I hope, bless my memory in the future, although my name may be forgotten." Obviously, not just housewives, but these things happen in the 19th century. He's not forgotten, though, if I have anything to say about it. So today, we are going to talk about Frederick Walton and his invention of linoleum.

• 3:44Tracy V. Wilson?

  Frederick Walton was born on March 13, 1834, and he came from a family of cloth frizzes. His father, James Walton, his grandfather, his great-grandfather, had all been cloth frizzes. Frizzing, which you can spell with one or two Z's, or more if you want to be really unique, is a method of treating wool to make it very textured. You first comb or brush the wool to pull up any fibers, and then very tightly twist them to create a nubbly texture that has a lot of depth. These wools are usually used for outerwear garments like cloaks and coats.

• 4:26Tracy V. Wilson?

  The family method of frizzing was apparently a very closely guarded secret, and they did very well for themselves. Frederick stated later that his father had succeeded in business and became the High Sheriff of Montgomery County.

• 4:39Holly Frey?

  James, who, again, is Frederick's father, had started working with his father in the textile mill when he was just a kid. That mill was located in West Yorkshire, in the Stubbs area of Sowerby. He was interested in the family business, but that interest actually led to some friction. Because after he got to understand the workings of the mill, James wanted to tinker with all the machines, because he thought they could all be improved. And his father was not a fan of this at all. Soon, James left the family business to start his own frizzing enterprise. And he got into some financial trouble when one of his inventions, which was a wire card that was used to brush wool fibers, got into a long patent litigation.

• 5:23Holly Frey?

  And after that, he was really, really secretive about his work. He had gone into business with some friends, and they had all argued kind of over who owned the rights to this particular thing. And he just felt burned by it. But even though he didn't want to share with friends, he did want to share his business with his sons, William and Frederick. And he made them partners in his mill once they were adults.

• 5:47Tracy V. Wilson?

  This also did not work out, because neither of the young men wanted a life in textiles. William wanted to pursue the arts. And Frederick was interested in the machinery at the mill, but that led him into wanting to work on his own projects. He had been exposed to uses of our recent recurring character on the show, India rubber, through his father's work. And he had started his own experiments to try to find a similar substance that did not have all the drawbacks that natural rubber did. James was really frustrated with this, so much so that Frederick decided he would just move to London and continue his own work. That meant that he gave up his interest in the family business

• 6:31Tracy V. Wilson?

  and the income that he received through it. So he was really just striking out on his own at the age of 27, without much of a safety net. He started his own brush company as a side business. He had started that even while still working with his father. And that produced hair and horse brushes. But it was not profitable and actually was a liability.

• 6:55Holly Frey?

  Even though all of this was a big risk, Frederick was confident in his decision. He had been experimenting with oxidized oil, which he combined with resin and gum, and he created a substance he called Campticon. I'm just going to tell you right now, there are a lot of names of products and substances in this that will make you say, why do people name these things these things? Because they're not very catchy, sometimes difficult to say, just sound kind of clunky.

• 7:24Tracy V. Wilson?

  Sometimes sound unappealing to me.

• 7:27Holly Frey?

  Just, I don't want that in my house, and yet, there it is. The story of how Frederick started this experiment is something that he described later in his life this way. And I will also say this. There are people that have said that this is really kind of like the myth version that he made up, like a smooth, easy version to tell people. Quote, "There was a paint pot in the laboratory, and as usual, a skin or surface of dried oil had formed upon it. It occurred to me that I could use it as a waterproofing material, similar to India rubber." So according to his story, when he picked up the skin that had dried on top of the paint, which was made with linseed oil, he found that that skin stayed together in one piece

• 8:12Holly Frey?

  and that it had these sort of pliable and rubbery qualities. And he started to consider whether this could be a substitute for India rubber. Recognizing that the linseed oil had dried due to natural oxidation, he began to experiment with purposely oxidizing it. And it was through that experimentation that he landed at Campticon.

• 8:34Tracy V. Wilson?

  He combined coal dust with Campticon to get a floor cloth called Camp Tulacon. Now, this was not something that he invented. He was trying to figure out how to make it. Camp Tulacon had been invented in 1843 as a way to line the hulls of iron warships. The idea was that if the ship was fired upon, the rubber would prevent splintering, and ideally would offer a temporary seal around the hull as the rubber would melt from the heat from the munitions, and it would like fill in the spot where the hull had been penetrated. It was tested for this usage, but determined to not be good enough for the investment of installing it.

• 9:19Tracy V. Wilson?

  When that use did not go as planned, Camp Tulacon started to be used as a floor covering. The India rubber backing made it waterproof and less prone to sliding around than some other floor covering options. We will be coming back to Camp Tulacon in a little while.

• 9:37Holly Frey?

  Yeah, I will say that testing that was done on ship hulls, it did work some of the time, but not consistently enough was the problem. Like, there is a report that there was one hole in a test that completely filled in, and it, you know, retained its seaworthiness, but... Uh, very expensive kind of a gamble.

• 10:00Tracy V. Wilson?

  Yeah.

• 10:01Holly Frey?

  And the reason that Walton was so fixated on creating a durable floor covering was that the existing options were not durable. He was also, as you'll see, trying to come up with any kind of use for this new kind of substance he felt he was working with. We're going to backtrack just a little to talk about floor covering terminology here because it can get a little confusing as certain words are used interchangeably. Today, the word carpet is usually used in reference to a permanently affixed floor covering, like one that fills the space. Whereas a rug is something that is generally smaller than the space it is in and isn't permanently affixed. But just so you know, in a lot of writing, particularly from the 19th century, carpet

• 10:46Holly Frey?

  and rug get used sort of interchangeably. The idea of wall-to-wall carpet just did not really exist at that point. It wasn't until the 20th century that that happened. So anytime we reference a quote and it's talking about carpet or that comes up in the course of this episode, we're talking about rugs.

• 11:05Tracy V. Wilson?

  When Walton died, one of his obituaries lauded him as having really been the person who changed the game when it came to flooring. Quote, "The usual floor covering of a century ago, a wax cloth consisting of cotton fabric provided with a coating of linseed oil varnish and coloring matters was not durable, even when the cotton fiber had been replaced by the coarser jute."

• 11:31Holly Frey?

  Coming up, we will talk about how Walton innovated and some money troubles. But first, we'll take a sponsor break.

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• 12:53Tracy V. Wilson?

  Hey, everybody, it's Tracy from Stuff You Missed in History Class. That's Alan Goya, a planning engineer at AT&T. He's talking about Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers, where every seat, screen, phone, and transaction is connected with AT&T fiber and 5G, defining the fan's experience. And Alan's master plan made it all possible.

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• 14:57Holly Frey?

  We've all done it, tumble down an internet rabbit hole trying to self-diagnose. And sometimes doing our own research can leave us more anxious than informed. Your feed is packed with wellness trends telling you to cold plunge, protein max, detox, track your sleep. But what's actually real? What's exaggerated? What's just wrong? That's exactly what Health vs. Hype from the American Medical Association and iHeart Media's Ruby Studio is here to find out. Each episode, Emmy-nominated science communicator Trace Dominguez, who's racked up billions of views across PBS, Discovery Channel, and YouTube, talks to doctors, influencers, and real people trying these trends.

• 15:40Holly Frey?

  Not to cancel them, not to hype them more, but to actually understand them. Because when it comes to your health, who you listen to matters. Start asking better questions and listen to Help vs. Hype on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 16:06Holly Frey?

  Walton's experimentation with oxidized oil quickly burned through the money that he had on hand after he left his father's company and went out on his own. This led to additional family friction because he suggested that his father, James, could just start giving him his inheritance early, starting with a thousand pounds and then advancing him another 700 or 800 pounds each quarter so that he could get his business up and running. His father, who already felt pretty jilted by his son's exit from the family business, did not appreciate Frederick trying to hasten his inheritance, and he refused to even speak to his son.

• 16:47Holly Frey?

  His brother William, though, who was still involved in the family business and was doing quite well, did help out, but Frederick then spent all of that money too. At this point, he was literally penniless, and Frederick's entire family worked to convince his father, James, that he really should help his son out. And he finally did, but only in the form of loans with clear interest terms. There was absolutely no early inheritance, and those loans were issued very carefully in small enough increments that Frederick had to be really careful with his spending. He found this very frustrating, so he kept asking for more. And then it reached a point where Frederick had borrowed more than 8,000 pounds from his father.

• 17:31Holly Frey?

  Keep in mind, uh, in the mid 1800s, so that was a lot of money. He didn't have any indication that he was anywhere near a position to pay any of that back. And once again, his father, James, cut him off.

• 17:44Tracy V. Wilson?

  I feel this would be, like, I don't, I don't know the etiquette of the 19th century in a family like this, but I feel that approaching a parent and being like, can I have my inheritance early? That's going to be a dicey conversation in most families.

• 18:01Holly Frey?

  Father, I'm tired of waiting for you to die.

• 18:04Tracy V. Wilson?

  Even if there's, uh, even without all of the baggage of already having some strained family relations because of not wanting to go into the family business. So sometime in 1860 or 1861, Frederick Walton moved into the British Grove Works in Chiswick. That included a factory and a house, and he moved there to continue his work. The Brentford and Chiswick Historical Society noted in its coverage of Walton's time there that the 1861 census data shows there was a rubber manufacturer at British Grove Works. And then interestingly, that Walton appeared to have also moved two families with him to the property from Houghton Green, where his father's company was.

• 18:50Tracy V. Wilson?

  The male heads of those families were employed at the factory.

• 18:54Holly Frey?

  Yeah, I don't know if that would be another, uh, element in the friction between him and his father if he took two of like the good factory workers with him.

• 19:03Tracy V. Wilson?

  Poached some people?

• 19:05Holly Frey?

  Yeah, that could be a problem. But it was probably good for Frederick that he had experienced workers to help him get production up and running because there were understandably all kinds of problems in setting up the facility. Because going from these tests he was doing in small batches to a larger scale was very tricky. There wasn't really any kind of equipment that could boil oil in huge amounts and also be open for air to access it so that it could then dry up. So he had to build these very large, open rectangular boiling tanks. Then to give the oxidized oil something to cling to while it dried, cloth had to be dipped into it, but those cloths that they came up with needed to be hung.

• 19:50Holly Frey?

  So Walton and his team built these huge iron racks over the tanks for this purpose. And those long pieces of fabric had to be dipped repeatedly, but they couldn't be dipped over and over. You had to basically let the oxidized oil set for about a day before you could dip it again. And that took weeks to build up just a few millimeters of thickness on the cloth. But then initially, that thin layer was not intended to stay on the dip cloth. They were trying to figure out a method to peel it off. It didn't want to come off.

• 20:27Tracy V. Wilson?

  So the solution was, don't bother. The strips of thin cotton with the oxidized oil were ground into a pulp and then heated with rosin and then poured onto dedicated floors to cure. And then after that, cut, aged and ground up again. The second grinding was combined with additional ingredients, which included cork dust instead of coal dust and pigment.

• 20:54Holly Frey?

  In addition to figuring out the manufacture process, Walton also wanted to see how his oxidized oil could perform in comparison to India rubber. He found that it did not break down when he got it wet. The heat did not seem to affect it. So that was all great. The one thing that did break it down was alcohol. And seeing its resilience really got him to think about the applications that India rubber was being used for and whether his oxidized oil would be an improvement. And one of the places that he saw an opportunity was Camtulicon, which, as we said, had already been invented. And the existing Camtulicon had risen in price because, as we have also recently discussed

• 21:37Holly Frey?

  on the show, more and more applications were being found for India rubber all the time and supply really couldn't keep up with demand. That meant that it got more and more expensive. But then to try to temper the rising costs, manufacturers of Camtulicon kind of cut back on the amount of rubber that they used and that reduced both the price and the quality of their products. So when Walton figured out how to make Camtulicon with his oxidized oil, it really offered a chance to fill a need in the consumer market. His Camtulicon formula had been refined over time and it had developed a finish that was very similar to rubber.

• 22:18Tracy V. Wilson?

  One of the issues with Camtulicon was that there was no way to attach it to any kind of backing. But Frederick, who had started rolling out his Camtulicon between two rollers to create a sheet of material with a consistent thickness, had the idea to roll it with a backing fabric at the same time. He was able to get consistent results and although his business had not yet taken off, Frederick Walton knew that he had advanced his work. And he was able to get other investors interested in this new material, which he called Camticon. Presumably, the capital provided by those investors was used to acquire the factory at Chiswick.

• 23:01Holly Frey?

  So Camticon was not an original enough name. People confused it with Camtulicon, which sounds so obvious when we're saying it aloud that I can't imagine that it didn't occur to him, but it didn't.

• 23:14Tracy V. Wilson?

  When I first read the outline, I was like, is that a typo? Did part get left out?

• 23:20Holly Frey?

  Did Holly make an epic typo? Cause sometimes I do. And like, let's face it, neither of those names is particularly catchy. So he had to rename it. And that is when the name linoleum was coined. This is a portmanteau of two Latin words. The first is linum. That's the lin, which refers to flax. In case you didn't know, linseed oil is made from dried flax seeds. The second word, oleum, most people know is the Latin word for oil.

• 23:49Tracy V. Wilson?

  Walton made several patent applications in the early 1860s. One was for a varnish process that he co-filed in 1861 with Richard Beard, who was employed at British Grove Works. Another invention that had been made with India rubber, the wire card that Frederick Walton had created to help in the family wool frizzing business was also updated with his new substance and that patent was filed with his brother, William. He also filed one for telegraphic cables that made use of his oxidized material.

• 24:23Holly Frey?

  And then there was his patent for his floor covering, which he described by writing, quote, "This invention has for its object improvements in the making of fabrics for covering floors and other surfaces. Canvas or other suitable strong fabrics are coated over their upper surfaces with a composition consisting of oxidized oil, coal dust and gum or resin, preferring cowry or New Zealand gum, such surfaces being afterwards primed, painted, embossed or otherwise ornamented." As we said, he later subbed out coal for cork. But that same year, Walton and his team actually developed a new version of linoleum and he filed a second patent for it.

• 25:07Holly Frey?

  This version didn't need to be painted or decorated because it already had color in it. It went all the way through. Having that linoleum completely colored as it was made meant that the finish or design was not going to wear off and that was a huge step forward.

• 25:23Tracy V. Wilson?

  Even before these patents, Walton had been asked to give a talk at the Society of Arts because his work at the factory in Chiswick was not a secret and people were eager to hear what he had been up to. He read a paper titled "On the Introduction and Use of Elastic Gums and Analogous Substances." The Morning Post of London had a write-up about the paper Walton read in the April 3, 1862 edition. In addition to outlining the topics Walton covered, it gives a slightly more detailed account, as told by Walton, of how he arrived at his own invention. Quote, "The author began by giving an account of the discovery and early history of India rubber. He referred to the various uses to which it is now applied and pointed out the large

• 26:08Tracy V. Wilson?

  amount of additional comfort and convenience which this simple substance has produced." Passing to Guttapercha, he gave a similar resume of its past history and its present commercial position. He then proceeded to describe a material which he had himself invented and which is, in his opinion, adapted for use as a substitute for India rubber for many purposes.

• 26:32Holly Frey?

  So here's where that write-up describes the actual invention and heads up, it's a big old run-on sentence. Quote, "Whilst engaged about two years ago in a series of experiments on the manufacture of artificial leather, it was of the greatest importance to the success of the material that it should have a coat of fine varnish, which, whilst drying quickly, possessed the flexibility of India rubber. It suddenly occurred to him that if linseed oil was first dried into a skin and then dissolved into a volatile solvent, like India rubber sheet, the semi-resinous material would immediately, on the evaporation of the solvent, resume, like India rubber, the form it was in prior to solution." So you could see that already a more condensed version of his process was being cultivated.

• 27:18Holly Frey?

  It makes the whole thing sound very fast and tidy and not the kind of thing that would cause a bunch of familial upheaval over finances while he tested it and ran out of cash.

• 27:28Tracy V. Wilson?

  The Morning Post account also describes how Walton started working with his oxidized oil, saying that he dipped panes of glass into the oil and let them dry, then redipped them and did it over and over again. This is similar to what was described as happening at the British Grove Works with fabric. Presumably, he could not find large enough panes of glass to do this at a larger scale that was needed for industrial production. He then crushed the solid sheets of oxidized oil and added shellac to make a dough-like consistency that could be fed into rollers. He could add the pigment at this point in the process as well.

• 28:09Tracy V. Wilson?

  He also discussed that his material could be treated in a manner similar to vulcanization, but without sulfur and that the result was hard, like ebonite.

• 28:19Holly Frey?

  So that speech, that reading of the paper was given at a unique time in Walton's business. Recall, he had not yet patented linoleum. And what is not mentioned in that write-up and presumably not mentioned at his talk, because I think it would have shown up in the papers, was that his factory had just burned down a couple of weeks prior. This was surprisingly not really a financial hardship. Perhaps recognizing that the chemicals and materials that were involved in his process were highly flammable, Walton had taken out a very large and robust insurance policy on the British Grove Works. And almost immediately after the fire, he was able to begin work on a larger, custom-built

• 29:04Holly Frey?

  factory.

• 29:05Tracy V. Wilson?

  We'll talk about Walton's life after the fire, after we hear from some of the sponsors that keep Stuff You Missed in History Class going.

• 29:18Speaker 06

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• 30:41Holly Frey?

  We've all done it, tumble down an internet rabbit hole trying to self diagnose. And sometimes doing our own research can leave us more anxious than informed. Your feed is packed with wellness trends telling you to cold plunge, protein max, detox, track your sleep, but what's actually real? What's exaggerated? What's just wrong? That's exactly what Health Versus Hype from the American Medical Association and iHeart Media's Ruby Studio is here to find out. Each episode, Emmy nominated science communicator Trace Dominguez, who's racked up billions of views across PBS, Discovery Channel, and YouTube, talks to doctors, influencers, and real people trying these trends, not to cancel them, not to hype them more, but

• 31:25Holly Frey?

  to actually understand them. Because when it comes to your health, who you listen to matters. Start asking better questions and listen to Health Versus Hype on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 31:44Tracy V. Wilson?

  Guess who's back in the house? The old gays return for season two of Silver Linings, their hit podcast from iHeart's Ruby Studio in partnership with ViiV Healthcare. Just wait until you hear what hosts Robert McMillan and Jess A. have in store this time around. They strut back down memory lane, navigating life, love, loss, and everything that shaped them along the way. And as usual, someone just might break into song. From leather bars to bathhouses, dance floors to drag brunch, nothing stays off limits. These are the kinds of insights that can only come from experience. So listen to your elders, honey, and discover the silver linings you can take with you. All sass, zero filter, and decades of perspective from four friends proving that queer joy

• 32:29Tracy V. Wilson?

  only gets better with age on the podcast that never gets old. Listen to Silver Linings, available on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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• 33:44Holly Frey?

  Although Walton built a shiny new factory, he did not stay there very long. Because as his process had gotten better and better, interest in linoleum was very high. And when it came time to really plot out production for market, it became apparent to Frederick and his investors that the factory was not going to be large enough to keep up. So in January 1864, Walton moved his entire enterprise to Stains Upon Thames, into a factory that had been a textile mill. This was handy because it came with lots of rollers in it already. The new factory opened in June with the name Stains Linoleum Manufacturing Company Limited.

• 34:26Tracy V. Wilson?

  In family happenings, things improved for Walton. Finally making good on all of his work led Frederick to a reconciliation with his father, and he also started his own family. On March 19th, 1867, Frederick married Alice Scrooby, who was a lawyer's daughter. The two of them had several children together in the following years.

• 34:48Holly Frey?

  Yeah, I'm sad to say I don't know much about Alice. I was not able to dig up a lot. And there is the added bonus that there was another Frederick Walton that existed at the same time. And you kind of have to pick apart any mentions because sometimes the two of them got conflated in both biographies and in newspapers. But it appears that they had several kids, seemed happy. Walton continued his work with oxidized oil, and that led to new inventions. Remember, he was always looking for ways that it could be applied. And one of these inventions was something called Lincresta Walton, which he invented in 1877. This was a wallpaper that was washable, the first of its kind.

• 35:34Holly Frey?

  It had originally been called linoleum muralis, i.e. wall linoleum. And it was quickly adopted as a decor choice for fine homes and businesses. Remember, prior to this, all wallpaper was like a fabric finish. You couldn't just wipe it down. The White House had Lincresta Walton wall coverings, and so did the Titanic, as well as many other places that you will see listed. At the start of the 1880s, Walton had opened a factory in Pierre Fils-Sur Seine, which is directly north of Paris and just outside the city. And that was part of a larger strategy to globalize his business. Lincresta expanded to the North American market in 1879, although it didn't really

• 36:17Holly Frey?

  take off there until 1883, when the patent rights were purchased by F.R. Beck and a dedicated factory was established in Connecticut. Incidentally, Lincresta is still available today as a luxury brand, although the company and the rights have changed hands several times.

• 36:35Tracy V. Wilson?

  Just as Walton was getting his Lincresta project up and running, he also became embroiled in a legal battle. A number of competitors had emerged in the market as soon as it became apparent that linoleum was in demand. A lot of companies that had been making oil cloth flooring started to sell their own products as linoleum as soon as his patent expired in 1877, and Walton tried to sue one of them. Things did not go as he expected, though, because while he had patented linoleum, he had not trademarked the word, and so it was ruled as a common name.

• 37:12Holly Frey?

  Yeah, anybody could use it, and he was really mad about that. Also, during the expansion of Lincresta, Walton was still trying new things with linoleum. He invented and patented granite linoleum, which mimicked the look of granite through inlaid pigment in streaks. But the big innovation was not Walton's, though. It was one of his employees. In 1880, C.F. Leake, who worked for him, developed a process that passed colored linoleum through a stencil to create mosaic inlaid linoleum. This was once again something that all competitors tried to replicate, but they didn't have Walton's process. Additionally, Walton built on Leake's work to continue to refine the process.

• 37:57Holly Frey?

  And in 1890, he got his first patent for a continuous inlaying machine. And he set up a company several years later just to make the inlaid linoleum. Because the Walton inlay was so superior to anything else anybody was trying to make, it became the industry standard. And because no one else could quite figure out how to make it, competitors had to buy their machines from Walton.

• 38:23Tracy V. Wilson?

  In 1895, an article appeared in the Chautauqua that had been translated from the German art and design publication Moderna Kunst. This article was titled Cork Carpets, and it offers insight into the way linoleum was perceived at the time, which was as a kind of carpet. It also illustrates just how much of a marvel people found it to be. The article opens with, quote, "As we wander through the public places vying with each other in size and magnificence of establishment, which have lent those characteristic features that so impressed one at Berlin, or as we betake ourselves to enjoy or perhaps criticize

• 39:03Tracy V. Wilson?

  one of the more recent theaters, while the eye delightedly notes the wonders of modern art decoration, the foot at the same time finds a very peculiar, yet very agreeable sensation. What is it on which we are walking? It is not a wood floor, for we see no cracks, and besides, it is too elastic to the tread. It is not oil cloth, for this antiquated floor covering was hard and cold. In spite of the easy walking on it, it is not a wool carpet, for here nothing of the dust is to be seen, which always clings to a wool carpet, be it ever so clean. It appears to be a floor covering, which, free from the faults of the older kinds of

• 39:46Tracy V. Wilson?

  carpeting, unites in itself their virtues. Upon more thorough inspection, we recognize that we have here linoleum or cork carpet."

• 39:57Holly Frey?

  Yeah, there's a whole side section that happens after this where it's like, forgive us, in Germany, we call it cork carpet. We know you call it linoleum. Like, it's very cute. This write up, which was made after a visit to a linoleum manufacturing facility in Delmenhorst, Germany, then explains to the reader what linoleum is, listing linseed oil as the most important component and cork as the second most important. This article also shares a layman's perspective on what linoleum production at massive scale looked like at the end of the 19th century. Quote, The technical director who accompanied us first showed us the cork mills whereby

• 40:39Holly Frey?

  an imposing number of millstones of huge dimensions, the cork is ground up into powder. Then it goes into a huge oil tank in which there is constantly about a million pounds of the best painter's linseed oil into the oil cauldron and pumps into the oxidizing houses. Here, a peculiar surprise awaits one who has been accustomed to regard oil as a fluid. He sees the linseed oil as a katusch-like, translucent mass, hanging in long, stringy strips which constantly are flooded with fresh oil. The wonderful metamorphosis from fluid to the solid state is the result of the oxidizing process affected by the oxygen of continually renewed air.

• 41:23Holly Frey?

  Then it explains after six to eight months of natural oxidation, during which the linseed oil releases its acid content, the solidified oil, quote, "is pulverized, mixed with a fossil resin, then is put through a series of kneading and roller systems which work the pulverized cork and fine coloring matter thoroughly through it. And finally, the resulting mass is pressed through steam-eated rollers onto a strong canvas web." The writer notes that the completed floor covering, quote, "perfectly unites in itself the warmth and sound-denying qualities of carpet, the elasticity, firmness, and waterproofness of couchouc, and the cleanliness of the old-time oil cloth."

• 42:05Tracy V. Wilson?

  There's also a description of the color and finish options of linoleum with particular admiration for inlaid linoleum, quote, "the colors of whose patterns actually go clear through it so that they never can wear off. I was extremely astonished to see them fill up the different colored parts and compartments, and to subject the material thus applied in a pattern to a hydraulic pressure of about 4,400 pounds to the square inch. That, thought I to myself, is indeed the floor covering of the future."

• 42:39Holly Frey?

  I really love this because I love the idea that a person who writes for like a design and architecture magazine, walked into a factory, probably saw a large-scale factory works for the first time, which are amazing. Anytime I visit a factory, I'm always like, "How do they do this?" And just came away like, "Wow, that's amazing." I just love it. By the end of the 19th century, Walton had made numerous lucrative licensing deals to manufacturers in multiple countries. Linoleum was embraced by builders and consumers because it offered an easy-to-clean, bouncy alternative to other flooring. It also did get, I want to say, some criticism from some people for seeming like a cheap or easy finish.

• 43:24Holly Frey?

  Like, in a world where they were used to like the very heavy Victorian decor, this seemed a little like, kind of quaint and maybe anemic. But obviously, that was not everybody. But even without his initial patent, Walton's subsequent ones provided plenty of income for years, and he continued throughout to work on new inventions. I think his last patent was filed in 1917. Walton saw his business interests through World War I, but when the war ended, he decided to retire, which he did, to Nice, France. His hobbies in retirement, and I found it charming that this was mentioned in a write-up, were fishing and painting.

• 44:05Tracy V. Wilson?

  In 1925, Walton wrote a book titled, "The Infancy and Development of Linoleum Floorcloth," and in it, he talked about his work and his life. Toward the end, he mentioned out of sort of nowhere, his belief in clairvoyance. There's a whole story of a time 30 years prior to the writing, when he wasn't feeling very well while working in stains. He describes his condition at the time this way, quote, "I felt not exactly ill, but I lost energy and my work became a trouble to me." So it kind of sounds like he might have been experiencing some burnout, or maybe even mild depression, but we cannot really know for sure.

• 44:46Tracy V. Wilson?

  His landlady, though, thought that going to a psychic would help him. And he says that when they went, the psychic predicted things about his linoleum floorcloth factory that came to fruition decades later, and this to him was proof that clairvoyance was real. He wrote, quote, "I mention this incident as a most remarkable case of long-antecedent clairvoyance, and I can vouch for its absolute truth."

• 45:11Holly Frey?

  Yeah, there was apparently a moment that she had described of like a bunch of stakeholders in the company, standing around a machine and talking, and he states that he, you know, that that moment happened and he realized in the moment, like, "Oh, my gosh, this is exactly as she described it." You know, it's fine. He concludes this narrative about his life, again, surprisingly, by sharing his thoughts on, you don't see this coming, religion and evolution. And I swear, I did not know that this was part of his story until after we recorded our recent episode on Thomas Huxley. Walton starts this section by ruminating on the progress of the 19th and early 20th

• 45:55Holly Frey?

  centuries, quote, "When I think of the extraordinary progress of science and scientific research that has taken place since I was born, I am filled with wonder, and I am tempted at times to allow my fancy to dwell upon what may happen in the years to come." He then goes on to talk about the fact that he watched railroads being built as a boy, and then as an adult, seeing planes take flight. But he also notes that even though, quote, "There seems to be no question that our animal origin is undoubtedly proven," and he does name-check Darwin and Huxley after that, "that humans continue to behave like beasts in slaying one another." In Walton's opinion, there needs to be more moral evolution.

• 46:38Holly Frey?

  Quote, "I may be wrong, but I firmly believe that nothing short of a long evolution, extending over countless centuries or even millions of years, will bring us to that perfection which many of us see in our dreams, but which can never be realized except in the imagination of those who picture what they most desire." So basically, he thinks man has a long way to go before humans become truly altruistic. He then compares the growth of religion to the growth of language, and states that he believes, quote, "Both are but a form of evolution." He also mentions that little section may alienate some of his associates and colleagues, but he concludes by writing, quote, "My object in adding these final words is only to emphasize

• 47:23Holly Frey?

  the wonderful changes which have occurred during the last 90 years, and I am indeed thankful that I have had time and opportunity to modify the views that I held in my youth."

• 47:34Tracy V. Wilson?

  As Walton entered his 90s, he started to think about a goal of living to be 100. That was not to be. He fell and broke his leg in early 1928. He never really recovered, and then he declined, and Frederick Walton died on May 16 of 1928.

• 47:52Holly Frey?

  Walton's will garnered a fair amount of press coverage because he made provisions for the people who had worked closely under him in later years. He reportedly left behind an estate of 54,116 pounds, and he left 4,000 of that to Hilda Mary Gay, who he described as his devoted attendant, and another 4,000 in a trust to provide for the widow of Edward Francis Armstrong, who had been his personal secretary. In the terms of the trust, he had also arranged that it would pass to Edward's daughter Catherine Maude Armstrong, once Edward's widow died. Presumably, the rest was for his family. But I just love that all the write-ups are kind of like, "He gave money to the servants."

• 48:37Holly Frey?

  It's kind of a hoot, but that was what they got for supporting the inventor of linoleum. Because that's Frederick Walton, who I find very interesting and a little, a little marvelously odd. I have listener mail. Listen, I'm going to tell you, some of this listener mail was chosen because of the animals.

• 49:00Tracy V. Wilson?

  Oh, good.

• 49:00Holly Frey?

  This is from our listener Valerie, who writes, "Hello, Holly and Tracy. I absolutely love listening to your podcast, especially when I'm out running. It keeps my mind occupied with something other than how much I want to stop, especially in this Texas summer heat. A funny side effect is that I'll occasionally post a fun fact of the day on Facebook, and it's always, always something I learned from your show. I've actually had people comment that they can tell I've gone for a run because another random fun fact has appeared on my page. I recently listened to your episode about shoes, and while I wouldn't say I have a shoe obsession, unlike someone else I won't mention," I mean, I presume Valerie means me, "I apparently own enough running shoes that my husband recently felt he needed to comment on my collection.

• 49:44Holly Frey?

  I also heard on one of your minis that y'all have done a Run Disney Weekend. I've only done one so far, but I absolutely loved it. It was such a fun experience, and I definitely look forward to doing another one someday. For the required pet tax, I'm including a couple of pictures. One is of our flock in their coop, which we proudly call the Hen Sane Asylum." Ah, oh, these chickens' names are the absolutely best. A little dark, so get ready. Our girls are Tanya Harding, Lizzie Borden, Casey Anthony, Carol Baskin, The Strippers, Babs, Diamond and Cinnamon, plus Mrs. Tweety and Mac from Chicken Run. That's a pretty wild and delightful assortment of names.

• 50:28Holly Frey?

  The other picture, and everybody be cool, don't share this information. The other picture is of our two very spoiled Boston Terriers, Tucker and Lila. Please keep that description between us, though. They have no idea they're actually dogs. As far as they're concerned, they're babies and we've made absolutely no effort to convince them otherwise. Sending lots of listening love from Texas. Listen, I'm not going to tell those two children that they're not children. The hens are so cute. The babies are so cute. Tucker and Lila are very sweet and I just, I love it. We don't get many chicken pictures. Send them on. Send them on. Some of those are very pretty babies. Anyway, I love it. I love that we make running easier. Run Disney is ramping back up very quickly.

• 51:12Holly Frey?

  I mean, they, they did, you know, during the height of the pandemic, when nobody was doing anything, they of course stopped and they have started back a while back. But I feel like they're in that rapid growth phase that happened when Run Disney first became a thing. But it started at a higher level, so now it's really huge growth. I hope that everyone that tries to get into races gets in. I haven't registered for one in a long time and my understanding is that now registration day is fraught. Cause it's like, you know, trying to get tickets to Taylor Swift. Probably not that bad. But in any case, thank you for sharing that with us and the chickens and your two beautiful children. If you would like to write to us, you can do so at [email protected].

• 51:55Holly Frey?

  You can find the show notes for any of the shows that we record at missedinhistory.com. And if you have not yet subscribed to the podcast and you'd like to, you can do that on the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows.

• 52:15Tracy V. Wilson?

  Stuff You Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

• 52:29Speaker 05

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• 52:59Holly Frey?

  A rare disease diagnosis can change your life, but it doesn't have to define your future. In season seven of Untold Stories, Life with a Severe Autoimmune Condition, host Martine Hackett continues the conversation with people living with MG, CIDP, and the broader rare disease community, exploring what comes after diagnosis through stories of hope, progress, and connection. Produced by Ruby Studio and partnership with Argenx. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 53:30Tracy V. Wilson?

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• 55:26Speaker 06

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• 55:33Speaker 00

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