Where Did Naugahyde Come From? Well, actually it could be argued
that it started in Newburg NY. The Fabrikoid Company was a small
textile business in the Hudson Valley that had been working on
creating artificial leather materials, particularly for use in
the carriage and luggage trade and the growing automotive
market. Leather, of course, was used throughout human history
for clothing, shelter, tools and many other purposes including
upholstery and footwear. People had tried to create synthetic
versions of the versatile material but it wasn't until the
Industrial Revolution that some promising developments came into
being. Fabrikoid chemists realized that a more robust, less
expensive alternative for leather would open huge markets and in
1908 the company developed a synthetic leather that consisted of
a nitrocellulose coating (called pyroxylin) on cotton that was
strong and flexible and could be colored with pigments suspended
in castor oil. The material could be pressed with various
patterns that simulated