The French word "toile" simply means "cloth".

But when people in France talk about "Toile de Jouy" they are referring to a very special print on cloth which became popular in France in the late 18th century.

Jouy is the township where it flourished. Several other centres produced toiles, including Nantes, Rouen, Bordeaux and Mulhouse.

The designs, printed on cotton and linen, were remarkable for their fineness of detail and richness of content.

They showed people in all walks of life, but particularly scenes of people enjoying the pleasures of the country.

They depicted Chinese fantasies, naval battles, classical mythology and even political propaganda.

The French were previously thought to be leaders in the production of these printed cottons.

However, it is now known that the first to develop the technique of engraving copper plates to print on fabric were Francis Nixon and Theophilus Thompson, who set up a print works at Drumcondra near Dublin in 1752.

The Irish factory was later closed and moved to the London area.

Nixon opened at Merton in Surrey and other companies quickly followed.

The look spread and shipments were commissioned in the New World.

The look was immediately picked up by a perceptive Swiss entrepreneur called Oberkampf, who had a textile factory at Jouy-en-Josas near Paris.

He bought his base cotton in London, which he visited often.

He realised the potential, and being a man of innate taste and commercial drive, forged ahead, employing good designers and engravers to work in the English idiom.

Within 30 years the French gained supremacy in the field.

Ever since, toile has been seen as a French invention, which, strictly speaking, it is not.

The world is now witnessing a general revival of these beautiful fabrics.