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Origins of tarpaulin -

Tarpaulin has been around for centuries. The word originated as a compound of the words tar and palling, referring to a tarred canvas pall used to cover objects on ships.

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Tarpaulin's use with boats -

This strong, flexible, water-resistant or waterproof material was being depicted as such as far back as the 14th century. In this manuscript illustration, pagan priests welcome Pope Sisinnius at the gates of Paris in 1317. The lower part of the scene shows boats on the Seine river transporting wheat covered by tarpaulins.

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Tarpaulin in the manufacturing process -

Tarpaulin was employed in the 16th century for use in a number of manufacturing processes, including the mining of iron ore. Once crushed, the ore was rinsed with water into sloping gutters and then into cross gutters. Next, the sludge was processed on tarpaulin mats or in sludge ditches.

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Use on the high seas -

As a material, however, this ubiquitous fabric is intrinsically connected to the economic and social history of the world's naval empires. Tarpaulin was utilized on ships for all sorts of reasons, including as a component in leisure time. In this 1919 photograph, soldiers play games on the troop ship HMAT Mahia, with one having just knocked his opponent from a pole into a water-filled tarpaulin.

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"Jack tars" -

In an effort to waterproof them, mariners often tarred their own overclothes in the same manner as the sheets or palls. By association, seafarers became known as "jack tars."

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The best material -

Up until the 20th century, tarpaulin was made from flax canvas coated in water-resistant tar. It was used extensively by merchant shipping to keep dry and protect valuable cargo. The decks of these river barges seen at Albert Docks in London are enveloped in the material.

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A fabric soaked in blood -

Tarpaulin was used by the Russian Navy as decking to soak up the blood of executed mutineers. One such episode was recreated in the 1925 silent film 'Battleship Potemkin,' though rather than having sailors lined up on tarpaulin, director Sergei Eisenstein portrayed the men about to be shot under a tarpaulin.

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A new fashion -

Clothing fashioned out of tarpaulin quickly caught on, at least as specialist apparel. These coach drivers at Niagara pictured in 1894 are wearing tarpaulin raincoats and matching leggings not so much for protection against downpours, but the spray released by the mighty falls.

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The appearance of the tarpaulin truck roof -

A motortruck belonging to Malicet et Blin, a French manufacturer of bicycles, automobiles, auto components, and aeronautical engines, makes its delivery run in Paris in 1910. Components are carried on a flatbed covered by a tarpaulin roof.

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Wrapped up in steam -

Tucked under tarpaulin ready for transport to the Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924 is the famous Flying Scotsman flagship steam locomotive for London & North Eastern Railway (LNER). Such was its prestige that the Flying Scotsman was frequently used in promotional campaigns.

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Mass produced -

In the 20th century, polyurethane replaced tar, then canvas was superseded by woven plastic in the manufacture of tarpaulin. By the early 1930s, the material was being mass produced. Pictured in 1936 is a woman at work in the Great Western Railways tarpaulin works at Worcester, England.

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Tarpaulin's use in warfare -

Tarpaulin had been used widely throughout the First World War. The second global conflict saw a more robust and durable material produced. Tarpaulin proved especially versatile in the field, deployed as camouflaged covers, for example, over foxhole by troops holding strategic positions, as as camouflage for military vehicles.

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A safeguard -

And tarpaulin proved vital in protecting stationary aircraft during the Second World War, safeguarding fuselage parts and navigation equipment, or sheltering entire aircraft fleets. This airman is removing tarpaulin before a mission at a United States Army Air Force base in December 1942 at Goose Bay in Labrador, Canada.

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Tarpaulin church -

A canvas tarpaulin for a church and packing cases for an altar meant this Navy chaplain was able to hold mass for US Marines Corps personnel at Saipan after the island had been retaken from Japanese forces in 1944.  The service was held in memory of those who had lost their lives in the initial landings.

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Tents and tarpaulins -

In 1947, rationing was still in place in Great Britain and across Europe. At this tent and tarpaulin factory in Mile End, east London, machines are kept running on bicycle power during electricity cuts.

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Unveiling a new model -

A man repaints the license plate of a Renault 4CV Grand Luxe covered with a tarpaulin before the opening of the 36th Paris Motor Show at the Grand-Palais in 1949.

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Give me shelter -

Spectators found a novel way of sheltering from the rain as they waited in the Mall the day before the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The enterprising revelers crawled under improvised tarpaulin tents.

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In safe hands -

A warehouseman drapes a tarpaulin over a statue of suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst before its move to a new location in Victoria Tower Gardens, near London's Houses of Parliament, in 1956. The statue, still standing today, shows one of Pankhurst's familiar hand gestures.

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The car cover -

One of the most familiar uses for tarpaulins, or tarps, is as a cover for a car. Today's woven plastic tarpaulins deflect moisture and ultraviolet rays. A heavy duty tarp also protects against bird droppings, tree sap, and pollen.

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Tent cities -

The extensive use of tarpaulin in the construction of tents for refugee camps reflects the huge global scale of forcibly displaced people. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that by the end of 2022, for the first time in recorded history, the number of people forcibly displaced in the world stood at 108.4 million, with over 35.3 million classified as refugees.

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Cover up! -

In 2012 in a highly unusual move, municipal employees in Lucknow covered up the giant elephant statues at Kanshi Ram memorial park with tarpaulin sheets. India's Election Commission ordered the covering up of the elephants ahead of elections in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The commission believed that because the animal was the symbol of the Bahujan Samaj Party, the statues' visibility could have influenced voters.

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The tarp test -

This is something you don't see very often. Two horses have a tarp pulled over their heads as part of an obedience test at the Equitana Horse Fair in Essen, Germany. 

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Protection against wet weather -

Tarpaulin has saved the day on numerous occasions when wet weather threatens a sporting event. Here, a ground crew pulls on the tarp as rain delays a game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Arizona Diamondbacks at Cinergy Field in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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Roof covering -

It was severe wet weather that caused widespread flooding across many parts of Germany in May 2019. The roof of this residence in Bavaria was so badly damaged it required a fire crew to place a huge tarpaulin over the property to protect it from further heavy rainfall.

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The real deal -

Tarpaulins can be designed to reflect an aesthetic appeal. The Wiesbaden City Palace in Germany was covered with a photorealistic scaffolding tarpaulin while being renovated, the image on it an artist's impression of the what the building would look like after its refurbishment.

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Decorative art -

In rare instances, tarpaulin is used in the manufacture of decorative furniture. This late 18th-century table crafted in North Holland features an oak frame and a pull-out tray glued with mahogany and black tarpaulin.

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Cheating the wind -

Tarp works really well as a wind breaker. The best type to use is fine mesh tarpaulin, which allows for a little give when gusts get heavy.

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Traditional use -

In a tradition that dates back to the Victorian era, the fishermen of Saltburn-by-the-Sea in North Yorkshire, England, use old tractors to move their boats to and from the water's edge. When not in use during the winter, they are sheeted up in tarpaulin and left in situ.

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Uncovering the past -

Tarpaulin is among archaeologists' most useful bit of kit. The fabric often serves as a cover when a precious find is discovered, such as a rare artifact or the bones of a prehistoric animal.

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Use at scenes of crime -

The use of woven plastic tarpaulin in the manufacture of forensic tents provides detectives and pathologists with the privacy required when examining an outdoors scene of crime. In this photograph, the tent has been erected in a cemetery either because a body has been discovered among the headstones, or an exhumation is being carried out.

Sources: (Maritime History Archive) (History) (UNHCR) (FloodList) 

See also: Famous individuals who were exhumed from their graves

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