John Zerby@I-O INC 05/11/98 09:13 AM I think the traditional finish for wood floors from then until now has been wax, not varnish, just wax over stain. I don't understand the "no sheen" part, because wax definitely gives a sheen. Maybe there was wax previously on the floors you saw, but was just worn away. No doubt the kind of wood floors you find in old houses is a function of the time, place, and economic level of the home owner. I have seen plain, unfinished pine plank floors in old houses here in Texas. But I would bet that where folks could afford it, turn-of-the-century houses had oak floors, waxed and polished to a fair-thee-well. Varnish probably goes way back, but as a furniture finish, not for floors -- probably not tough enough for foot traffic. Wood floors I grew up with in the 1940s and '50s were finished with shellac. Polyurethane, which I guess is sometimes referred to as varnish, is a later development, very tough and pretty commonplace today. It would definitely not be authentic, though, in a restored Victorian. John Zerby, Houston, Texas Union County family names PIKE, MILLS, VIZE, LUCKETT, MELBOURNE