This is a perky kitchen paper being shown with its matching cut-out border. Both of these samples are pages that were removed from a wallpaper sample book, one of those huge books used in showrooms that contain the full design. The grid pattern on the wallpaper is reminiscent of ceramic tiles, and while this paper...

I decided to blog about this floral swag frieze produced in the early twentieth century. The design is fairly typical for the period with large floral swags, which here alternate with ribbon swags, suspended from pendant fixtures projecting from an architectural molding. What is unusual about this paper is the width, measuring in at thirty...

I came across this frieze paper and the image seemed a little unusual. The whole theme of the paper is wheat. Printed in grisaille, or shades of gray, this frieze is a trompe l’oeil design with a large inset panel as the main element. A wide architectural molding runs across the top edge, with a...

Wallpapers were rarely designed to be used alone, and fashions in wall treatments changed frequently. In the early twentieth century, wall treatments began to get simpler, consisting of a wallpaper and wide border, or frieze, and it remained popular to paper ceilings into the 1950s. This turf design is part of a matching set of...

Here is a charming wallpaper in the art deco style. The motifs are highly stylized with bright pink and fuchsia-colored birds nestled among dense gray foliage. The design is rendered in a minimal fashion, with the leaves consisting of little more than a metallic gold outline around ovals in two shades of gray, with larger...

This is a charming children’s wallpaper based on the Little Boy Blue nursery rhyme. The design contains three different vignettes, arranged in trefoil format, each one illustrating a different line from the verse. A cow is shown in the first view, two sheep in the next, while the little boy in blue is shown sound...

This wallpaper commemorates Commodore Isaac Hull and the first important American naval victory of the War of 1812 in a battle between the USS Constitution and the British frigate HMS Guerriere. Commodore Hull was credited for the victory owing to his superior seamanship, even though the Constitution was nearly 50% larger with a better firing...

Early children’s wallpapers were designed to be educational, with many based on popular books. This wallpaper illustrates four scenes from William Cowper’s poem The Diverting History of John Gilpin written in the 1780s. The story contains some silly antics that would capture the fancy of children. The nutshell version of the tale goes like this:...

Since I was fortunate enough to have my blog posted on July 4 I thought I would write about something holiday specific. Not always an easy task as wallpaper is a long-term commitment, so there are few papers that display seasonal activities or special holidays. In years past I’ve written about the American War of...

In celebration of World Pride, June Object of the Day posts highlight LGBTQ+ designers and design in the collection. I would have to give the honor of the most iconic wallpaper to Andy Warhol for his creation of Cow wallpaper. Cow was first shown at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York in 1966, which...

In celebration of World Pride, June Object of the Day posts highlight LGBTQ+ designers and design in the collection. Kennebec is a fun, playful wallpaper pattern that would hang unobtrusively on the wall, adding a bit of color and texture to the room. The design is rustic in nature, given that it has the appearance...

In celebration of World Pride, June Object of the Day posts highlight LGBTQ+ designers and design in the collection. Infinity is a pattern of dots that scale from small to large back to small, printed in two columns across the width. When seen from a distance the design is slightly reminiscent of crocodile hide. I...

In celebration of World Pride, June Object of the Day posts highlight LGBTQ+ designers and design in the collection. This is one of my favorite novelty papers as it appeals to a number of senses and is more than just a pretty wallpaper. I find myself drawn to the complementary colors, with the bright red...

If you’ve ever thought it might be nice to be a fly on the wall, think about the fun you could have with a bird’s eye view from the ceiling. You could be part of the beautiful ceiling decoration that was so fashionable during the Gilded Age. Today’s wallpaper would have been part of that...

Seated atop a seemingly wooden structure, we see a beige cherub playing a spiral hunting horn. Following his gaze downward we see, locked in frenzied combat, a large stag and a horde of hunting dogs who contort their bodies in an attempt to complete their violent action. On their right and left are two more...