‘Tis the season to think about exterior repainting. While working on some upcoming PHW event activities, we came across the following online sources to see authentic paint chips and sample color schemes from the late Victorian era through the 1960s. Take a look and get inspired!
1. The Daily Bungalow Flickr account has not only advertising samples from kit house manufacturers, but also a few paint chip sample pages from the same catalogs. Be sure to check out their album tab to find the booklets of particular interest to your home’s age and style.
2. Retro Renovation has a blog post dedicated specifically to a Dupont flyer for painting your 1960s house. Check out the rest of their blog for other Midcentury Modern style restoration stories and product resources.
3. Ed Ferris posted on My Old House Online a link to a Lowe Brothers paint catalog (dated circa 1910). Be sure to read through the comments on his post at My Old House Online to see more discussion and links about the history of historic colors.
4. In the same vein is the collection of paint catalogs from the Building Technology Heritage Library at the Internet Archive. One in particular caught our eye: Practical Suggestions on Exterior Decoration published by John Lucas & Co. in 1898. There are currently over 300 pamphlets in this collection, all available for viewing online.
(But before you rush out to paint your house a new old color scheme, make sure you are not subject to exterior color approval in the Historic Winchester zoning overlay. Most color change applications can be handled through the Planning and Zoning Office by administrative approval. Find more information online or call the City at 667-1815 and ask for Planning and Zoning if you have questions.)