Paint in the Schuyler Mansion: 18th Century Paint

By Jessie Serfilippi

A copy of Schuyler's paint receipt

Painting the interior of a house in the 18^th century greatly differed from modern paint methods. In the 18^th century, paint had to be mixed specifically for each job and used quickly so it wouldn’t develop a skim on top. Paint also came in powdered form, allowing it to be mixed at the convenience of the user. Surprisingly, what these powders were made of not only determined the cost of the paint, but also made certain paint colors into status symbols. Because of this, the wealthy social elite of the colonial era used paint to further display their wealth. As a man of great wealth, Philip Schuyler may have sought to show off his status through paint colors, too.

One of the few paint-related receipts from the early days of the Schuyler Mansion details the colors, form, quantity, and prices for a variety of paints Schuyler purchased. According to this receipt, he bought four bags of white paint “Ground in Oil,” two bags of “Brown paint Ground in oil,” 20 bags of “Umber” paint, two bags of lamp black paint, and three ounces of Prussian Blue. Schuyler also purchased 20 gallons of oil with his paint, indicating that his paint was made from an oil base. Oil paint was made from three main ingredients—linseed oil, the ground-up pigment, and turpentine. 

Out of the four paints purchased, the easiest pigment to make was brown. This was made using whichever minerals were available locally. Most commonly, dirt was used to achieve what was sometimes referred to as Spanish Brown. This paint was commonly used as a primer, so its exact color—which varied widely, from red, to orange, to brown—didn’t matter.

White paint, according to Colonial Williamsburg’s Making History, was not exactly white. It was rather a creamy off-white that sometimes faded to khaki over time. This is because white paint is made from either chalk or lime, which would be available to colonials in nearby quarries. Because the pigment is created through these minerals, a pure white color could only be achieved through white washing. Whether or not Schuyler white-washed after painting anything white is currently unknown.

Lamp black paint, which Schuyler purchased two bags of, was created with either soot from oil lamps or burnt vegetable oil mixed with the base, which was oil in this case. These common resources would make is fairly cheap to produce, much like the brown paint.

Schuyler also purchased umber paint. This is a shade of brown named for the clay material from which it’s derived. The clay is typically mined in Italy or Cyprus, meaning the import value alone likely caused it to be more expensive than the other shade of brown.

The most expensive paint color of all was Prussian blue, of which Schuyler purchased only three ounces. Those three ounces cost 1 pound, 1 shilling, while two bags of brown paint cost him one pound, twelve pence. Prussian blue paint was the first artificially manufactured paint. It was discovered through experimentation with the oxidation of iron by a German man named Diesbach. Not only did it become popular in the centuries following its discovery, but it was also expensive, making it a status symbol. George Washington put it in his home. Did Philip Schuyler, as well? Discover the answer in the next blog post in this series, which will focus on restoring the paint in the Schuyler Mansion!

Prussian Blue at George Washington's Mount Vernon.

Note: A previous version of this article included information on milk paint which has since been removed after further research revealed only questionable historical evidence for the existence of milk paint.