Though toile is said to have been produced in Ireland in the mid-18th century, research pins its earlier origins to France in the 1760’s. Also known as ‘ toile de jouy ‘ which in French means, “cloth from Jouy-en-Josas” after a town in the south-west suburbs of Paris, its style of print is characterized by vignettes scattered over a white or off-white cotton background in a type of repeated pattern depicting a fairly complex scene generally of a pastoral theme. But more recently, the single colored palate [most often black, dark red, or blue] has given life to another scene. Harlem, NYC.