Decades before Pantone’s colour of the year, the Textile Colour Card Association (TCCA) led the way in the standardisation of colours and colour names. Established in 1915, the TCCA provided American textile industry and dealers with “indispensable guidance in the manufacture and ordering of colours.”
Colour gives me life. So much of the available reference material showing fashions from the early to mid part of the 20th century - such as photographs, magazines and catalogues - are in black and white, but life was colourful! I love discovering the colour palettes that were around back then, colour-printed style features; the advice in magazines on the latest fashionable colour combinations; and “this year’s colours” in mail order catalogues.
Free download: This tear-out supplement in Woman magazine 24 March 1956, How to choose colour for your home, provides “sound practical advice with many colour-scheme suggestions, guides to measuring and up-to-the-minute information, to help all homemakers achieve a happy, good-looking, well-planned home”. As the name suggests, it offers tips on choosing colour, but it actually covers more than that, including advice on texture and painting as well.
