Gray backgrounds in French antique printed fabrics

The pictures below illustrate some of the gray tones that were used by French textile manufacturers during the 19th century and the early 20th century. The shades of gray included blue-gray, green-gray, charcoal and more. Gray was a popular color since it didn't show the soot from the fireplaces as did lighter colors. The first and third below are fabrics from 1870-1880 while the other three are Art Nouveau fabrics.