Do Table Linens Play a Major Role in History?
While few of us would want to return to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, our ancient ancestors might be fairly afraid if they found themselves in today’s world. The idea of consuming a full course meal at a table rather than snacking nuts and berries on the go would seem like a pretty astounding change in itself, especially once you add the consideration of utensils. But then the custom of placing a covering over the table in order to keep it clean might seem like we’re just trying to make thing difficult for fun. It would get worse if they noticed that these cloths come in countless designs for countless affairs and that there is a huge, worldwide business in both bulk retail and wholesale table linens, sold for both ridiculously high prices and as dirt cheap close-outs with deep discounts. At that point, time traveling cave-folks are going to have a pretty good idea of how difficult civilized life can really be. Indeed, the history of tablecloths and linens goes at least as far back as
