Wallpaper is a kind of paper used to decorate the interior walls of domestic and public buildings instead of paint.
The term wallpaper sometimes includes wall coverings made of cloth, spun glass, metal foil, or plastic as well as of paper.
Wallpaper seems to have developed in the late 15th century in Europe with the introduction of papermaking as a cheaper substitute for other wall coverings such as tapestry or painted cloth or silk hangings.
Very few examples from the earliest days survive, but the first wallpaper was probably hand painted or stenciled. Stenciling is a means for producing a design on paper, cloth, or other surface by passing ink or paint over holes cut in cardboard or metal onto a surface to be decorated.
Although wallpaper is sometimes said to be a Chinese invention, there is no firm evidence that wallpaper was in use in the Far East earlier than the late 15th century.
Wallpaper was only used in the 16th century by the emerging gentry. The social elite hang large tapestries on the walls of their homes, which added color to the room as well as providing an insulating layer thus retaining heat. However, tapestries were extremely expensive and so the less well-off members of the emerging gentry, turned to wallpaper to brighten up their rooms.
Early wallpaper featured scenes similar to those depicted on tapestries, and large sheets of the paper were sometimes hung loosely on the walls.
In the United Kingdom during the Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell, the manufacture of wallpaper, seen as a frivolous item by the Puritan government, was halted.
A popular type of wallpaper in the late 17th and 18th centuries was flock paper, in which the design was stencilled in adhesive and then scattered with powdered wool to create a velvety effect.
Flocked papers formed a prominent part of the stock-in-trade of the earliest wallpaper makers in London, who seem to have pioneered their manufacture. In France they were called papiers d'Angleterre (English papers) for a time, but by the late 18th century the French had surpassed the English in quality and design.
In the 17th century, at the same time flocked papers were so popular, Chinese wallpapers began to appear in Europe. These were painted papers, the finest of which were produced by etched plates or woodblocks. The color was applied either by hand or with a stencil. Most of these papers were produced especially for the European market, and they were often made in sets of 25 rolls, each 4 by 12 feet (1.2 by 3.65 meters). The appeal of Chinese wallpapers was their lack of repeated design and their intentional dissimilarity of detail.
Because of their beauty and costliness several country houses in Britain still have a 'Chinese room' decorated with these panels.
Below is a hand-painted Chinese wallpaper showing a funeral procession, made for the European market, c. 1780.
In 1712 a tax was imposed in England on printed wallpaper – builders avoided paying by hanging plain wallpaper and painting patterns on it themselves. It wasn't abolished until 1836.
In 1785 Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf devised the first machine for printing wallpaper. Inventive progress was hampered, however, by the lack of a means to produce long, continuous sheets. This was not achieved until the first decade of the 19th century, when Henry and Sealy Fourdrinier perfected a new papermaking machine in Hertfordshire, England.
It was not until 1840 that a printing firm in Lancashire started producing machine-printed wallpaper sheets with an 'endless' design that is standard today, making wallpaper much cheaper and increasing its use enormously.
In 1806, in collaboration with the artist Jean-Gabriel Charvet, the French company Joseph Dufour et Cie produced a twenty-panel set of woodblock printed scenic wallpaper entitled Sauvages de la Mer du Pacifique (Savages of the Pacific). The largest panoramic wallpaper of its time, and marked the burgeoning of a French industry in panoramic wallpapers.
In America by 1820 the walls of an average-size room could be papered for about a dollar, then equal to an average day's wage. This was less than the cost of oils and pigments to make paint enough to cover the same walls. Inexpensive wallpapers therefore, began to be made and used in large quantities.
Excess of decoration was a fault of many early 19th-century wallpapers. One of the English interior decorator William Morris' aims was to reinstate a sense of beauty into everyday life and forge close links between art and craft. Morris was dedicated to the principles of medieval craftsmanship and he revolutionized the art of house decoration in England in the second half of the 19th century.
The great wars and economic crises of much of the 20th century forced a cutback in wallpaper production. The walls of homes and public buildings during this period were more often painted than papered.
The do-it-yourself movement of the late 20th century stimulated sales of wallpaper. Manufacturers cooperated by offering detailed instructions, demonstrations, and films to alleviate the drudgery of home decoration. Prepasted papers were also made available.
Play-Doh was originally invented as a wallpaper cleaner.
Bubble Wrap was originally invented in 1957, but not to be used as a packaging material, but rather for use as wallpaper.
24,000 rolls of Beatles wallpaper was flown to the US on February 21, 1964 as Beatlemania took off.
There was a pigment used in early days of wall paper called Sheele's Green. If it got moldy or damp it would release the arsenic in the air. It is speculated that this was the cause of Napoleon's death as green was his favorite color and his walls were painted bright green.
Compton's Enyclopedia
The term wallpaper sometimes includes wall coverings made of cloth, spun glass, metal foil, or plastic as well as of paper.
HISTORY
Wallpaper seems to have developed in the late 15th century in Europe with the introduction of papermaking as a cheaper substitute for other wall coverings such as tapestry or painted cloth or silk hangings.
Very few examples from the earliest days survive, but the first wallpaper was probably hand painted or stenciled. Stenciling is a means for producing a design on paper, cloth, or other surface by passing ink or paint over holes cut in cardboard or metal onto a surface to be decorated.
Although wallpaper is sometimes said to be a Chinese invention, there is no firm evidence that wallpaper was in use in the Far East earlier than the late 15th century.
 |
| Fragment (China), 16th century |
Wallpaper was only used in the 16th century by the emerging gentry. The social elite hang large tapestries on the walls of their homes, which added color to the room as well as providing an insulating layer thus retaining heat. However, tapestries were extremely expensive and so the less well-off members of the emerging gentry, turned to wallpaper to brighten up their rooms.
Early wallpaper featured scenes similar to those depicted on tapestries, and large sheets of the paper were sometimes hung loosely on the walls.
In the United Kingdom during the Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell, the manufacture of wallpaper, seen as a frivolous item by the Puritan government, was halted.
A popular type of wallpaper in the late 17th and 18th centuries was flock paper, in which the design was stencilled in adhesive and then scattered with powdered wool to create a velvety effect.
Flocked papers formed a prominent part of the stock-in-trade of the earliest wallpaper makers in London, who seem to have pioneered their manufacture. In France they were called papiers d'Angleterre (English papers) for a time, but by the late 18th century the French had surpassed the English in quality and design.
In the 17th century, at the same time flocked papers were so popular, Chinese wallpapers began to appear in Europe. These were painted papers, the finest of which were produced by etched plates or woodblocks. The color was applied either by hand or with a stencil. Most of these papers were produced especially for the European market, and they were often made in sets of 25 rolls, each 4 by 12 feet (1.2 by 3.65 meters). The appeal of Chinese wallpapers was their lack of repeated design and their intentional dissimilarity of detail.
Because of their beauty and costliness several country houses in Britain still have a 'Chinese room' decorated with these panels.
Below is a hand-painted Chinese wallpaper showing a funeral procession, made for the European market, c. 1780.
 |
| Wikipedia |
In 1712 a tax was imposed in England on printed wallpaper – builders avoided paying by hanging plain wallpaper and painting patterns on it themselves. It wasn't abolished until 1836.
In 1785 Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf devised the first machine for printing wallpaper. Inventive progress was hampered, however, by the lack of a means to produce long, continuous sheets. This was not achieved until the first decade of the 19th century, when Henry and Sealy Fourdrinier perfected a new papermaking machine in Hertfordshire, England.
It was not until 1840 that a printing firm in Lancashire started producing machine-printed wallpaper sheets with an 'endless' design that is standard today, making wallpaper much cheaper and increasing its use enormously.
In 1806, in collaboration with the artist Jean-Gabriel Charvet, the French company Joseph Dufour et Cie produced a twenty-panel set of woodblock printed scenic wallpaper entitled Sauvages de la Mer du Pacifique (Savages of the Pacific). The largest panoramic wallpaper of its time, and marked the burgeoning of a French industry in panoramic wallpapers.
 |
| 'Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique', panels 1-10 |
In America by 1820 the walls of an average-size room could be papered for about a dollar, then equal to an average day's wage. This was less than the cost of oils and pigments to make paint enough to cover the same walls. Inexpensive wallpapers therefore, began to be made and used in large quantities.
Excess of decoration was a fault of many early 19th-century wallpapers. One of the English interior decorator William Morris' aims was to reinstate a sense of beauty into everyday life and forge close links between art and craft. Morris was dedicated to the principles of medieval craftsmanship and he revolutionized the art of house decoration in England in the second half of the 19th century.
 |
| Acanthus wallpaper, designed by Morris 1875 |
The great wars and economic crises of much of the 20th century forced a cutback in wallpaper production. The walls of homes and public buildings during this period were more often painted than papered.
The do-it-yourself movement of the late 20th century stimulated sales of wallpaper. Manufacturers cooperated by offering detailed instructions, demonstrations, and films to alleviate the drudgery of home decoration. Prepasted papers were also made available.
FUN WALLPAPER FACTS
Play-Doh was originally invented as a wallpaper cleaner.
Bubble Wrap was originally invented in 1957, but not to be used as a packaging material, but rather for use as wallpaper.
24,000 rolls of Beatles wallpaper was flown to the US on February 21, 1964 as Beatlemania took off.
There was a pigment used in early days of wall paper called Sheele's Green. If it got moldy or damp it would release the arsenic in the air. It is speculated that this was the cause of Napoleon's death as green was his favorite color and his walls were painted bright green.
Compton's Enyclopedia
No comments:
Post a Comment