From Cooper Hewitt's collection handbook, Making Design, the history of the surtout de table.

This scenic paper depicts quite an active scene. On the right, French soldiers on horseback charge off the right edge of the paper. In the middle and in the left background, various wounded Turkish soldiers rest beside an obelisk or sit in a makeshift hospital. On the far left, three French soldiers watch as an...

Faux statues and architectural elements were standard production for French wallpaper manufacturers of the mid to late nineteenth century. In this ornamental paper panel commemorating a monument that commemorates a man, designers Dufour et Leroy have created a remarkably thorough copy of the Column of the Grande Armeé at the Place Vendôme in Paris. Work...