To clean hanging paper (wallpaper) with a loaf of bread

If your loaf of bread becomes stale, you can clean “wall-paper that has become darkened by smoke." Following are a sampling of instructions from 1831, 1885 and 1903.
A few food history virtual food talks at the end.




To clean paper hangings 1831
“Cut into eight half quarters a stale quarter loaf; with one of these pieces, after having blown off all the dust from the paper to be cleaned by means of a good pair of bellows, begin at the top of the room, holding the crust in the hand, and wiping lightly downward with the crumb, about half a yard at each stroke, till the upper part of the hangings is completely cleaned all round; then go again round with the like sweeping stroke downward, always commencing each successive course a little higher than the upper stroke had extended till the bottom be finished.

This operation, if carefully performed, will frequently make very old paper look almost equal to new. Great caution must be used not by any means to rub the paper hard, nor to attempt cleaning it the cross or horizontal way. The dirty part of the bread too must be each time cut away, and the pieces renewed as soon as at all necessary.”
A New Collection of Genuine Receipts, for the Preparation and Execution of Curious Arts, and Interesting Experiments… Concord, NH: 1831

To Clean A Papered Wall. 1885
Cut into eight pieces a large loaf of bread two days old, blow dust off wall with a bellows, rub down with a piece of the bread, in half yard strokes, beginning at the top of the room, until upper part is cleaned, then go round again repeating until all has been gone over. Or, better, take about two quarts of wheat bran, tie it in a bundle of coarse flannel, and rub it over the paper. It will clean the paper nicely. If done carefully, so that every spot is touched, the paper will look almost like new. Dry corn meal may be used instead of bread, applying it with a cloth.
The Dixie Cook-book. Atlanta: 1885

To clean wallpaper 1903
“Wall-paper that has become darkened by smoke can be cleaned to some extent by putting a piece of canton or cotton flannel (nap side out) over a soft broom and wiping the wall with it. …

Perhaps the best method of cleaning papers is by the old "stale bread" process. Some do this by crumbling the bread and rubbing the crumbs on the paper, holding a paper in one hand to catch the crumbs as they fall; but a better plan is to rub with a loaf of bread. Choose a stale loaf that is not hard, cut off the end square and remove the crust, say half an inch, on each side. Then rub the paper with it, and as soon as it is soiled cut off a very thin slice and go on rubbing. If a very thin knife is used and care is taken to remove only a very thin slice each time, the loaf will last a long time.“
Jennings, Arthur Seymour. Wallpapers and Wall Coverings: A Practical Handbook… NY: 1903

IMAGE: Lancaster New Era. Mar 25, 1929. From Newspapers.com blog

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