Greased paper window

A greased paper window is a very inexpensive window made of paper coated in grease. The grease fills gaps between the paper fibers, reducing the amount of light lost to scattering.^[1] Greased paper windows provide a diffuse light source, while blocking wind and preventing insects and other small animals from entering a structure.^[1]

1919 photograph of an early-to-mid 19th century schoolhouse in Plain Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana, with a greased-paper window

Greased paper windows were often used by American pioneers of the early 1800s^[2] and other itinerant peoples, in lieu of relatively expensive traditional glass windows.^[1] Laura Ingalls Wilder recalled living in a home with a greased paper window in her 1937 children's novel, On the Banks of Plum Creek.^[3]

See also

• Log cabin
• Dugout (shelter)
• Sod house
• Frosted glass