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All The News That's Fit To Blockprint!

Issue # 5, September, 2014


David Skinner has authored "Wallpaper in Ireland 1700-
1900". The book was edited by William Laffan and
published by Churchill House Press. All proceeds benefit
the Irish Georgian Society. Folks, take my word for it, this
is an outstanding book. Distribution is being sought for the
US, and a list is being kept for a group order. All are
welcome to join the group order by emailing to:
<wscom@roadrunner.
com>
"This lavishly
illustrated book is the
first devoted to the
subject of the
manufacture and use
of wallpaper in Ireland.
Drawing on his
extensive experience
both as a maker and a
researcher of historic
wallpapers, David
Skinner has compiled
a detailed survey
of the patterns used to
decorate Irish houses
from the early eighteenth century until the demise of the
Irish paper-staining trade at the close of the nineteenth
century. Journals, letters, invoices and newspaper
advertisements are among the sources explored to chart the
history of wallpaper in Ireland, the role of emigrant Irish
artisans in developing wallpaper manufacture in France and
North America, the tax on wallpaper, and the trade in
smuggled wallpaper between Ireland and Victorian
England. The book will provide an invaluable guide to
researchers, architects and those involved in the study of
historic interiors."
<http://www.churchillhousepress.com/books/wallpaper-in-
ireland.html>

The world has lost a great historic preservationist. Don
Carpentier, 62, succumbed to ALS on August 26, 2014.
An appreciation:

<http://wallpaperscholarblog.blogspot.com/2014/08/in-
memoriam-don-carpentier-master-of.html>

The ABC Bulletin from Great Britain is a terrific quarterly
newsletter. Published by the National Trust, it shares news
about the Art, Buildings and Collections (A-B-C, get it?) of
Trust properties, which number more than 500. The digital
publication is free; to subscribe:
<http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1356393817247/>

Another newsletter about archival discoveries is from the
Winterthur Library. Also free. To gaze at past issues and
subscribe:
<http://www.winterthur.org/?p=1147>
A wallpaper exhibition Artist's Interior Worlds opens
at London Print Studio on Sept. 13 as part of the London
Design Festival and will run until Nov. 1. Co-curated by
Matthew Meadows, the 30 contemporary artists and
designers include Timorous Beasties, Marthe Armitage,
and Jocelyn Warner:
<http://www.londonprintstudio.org.uk/carouselitem/forthco
ming-exhibition-wallpaper-artists-interior-worlds-london-
design-festival/>


An introduction to the Chinese wallpaper at Abbotsford
House, the home of Sir Walter Scott, via a pair of
touchscreen interactive displays, has been posted at Vimeo.
"The Abbotsford drawing room is home to an exotic
display of hand-painted Chinese wallpaper, dating from
1822... every detail of the imagery is invested with meaning.
Our interactive piece aims to explain these meanings, as
well as show areas of the wallpaper in greater detail. The
illustrations are brought startlingly to life with animation
from motion designer Ant Dinham."
<http://vimeo.com/78350115>




Kadri Kallaste, conservator of
historic wallpapers at the German
Wallpaper Museum, announces that
the new exhibition "Wandlust"
takes place in the West Pavilion at
the Orangerie in Karlsaue from July
17, 2014 - June 28, 2015. A
selection of wallpapers and pattern books from the
internationally acclaimed collection in Kassel are shown.
These range from Rococo to today's latest trends and are
combined with contemporary furniture.

In addition to chinoiserie panels (18th c.) and a panoramic
wallpaper (19th c.) from France, Kassels own Biedermeier
decor from the former Arnold Wallpaper Factory and the
"Nana" wallpaper designed for documenta 5 by Niki de
Saint Phalle will be on display. Vorsicht!: link to German
text below!
<http://www.museum-
kassel.de/index_navi.php?parent=11391>


A review of the
paperback "Chinese Wallpaper in National Trust Houses"
has been published:
<http://wallpaperscholarblog.blogspot.com/2014/09/review
-chinese-wallpaper-in-national.html>


The Wallpaper History Discussion Group on LinkedIn
continues to grow, standing at over 670 members: join! It's
free and easy:
<http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Wallpaper-History-
Group-4248838/about>

Greg Herringshaw of the Cooper-Hewitt Wallpaper Dept.
has published information on the Smithsonian web site
about a c. 1935 landscape view sidewall ("The Livingston")
from Birge. The 1935 version was the third incarnation of
this almost frighteningly complicated design:

<http://www.cooperhewitt.org/2014/05/07/landscape-
views/>

ONLY IF YOU HURRY...AND HAPPEN TO BE IN THE
VICINITY OF THE NORTH SEA: Mette Humle,
conservator at the National Museum of Denmark,
announces that an exhibition of Danish wallpaper 1930-
1965 at the museum is about to close on Sept. 14th. In the
late 19th century the industrialization of wallpaper
production had made wallpaper affordable to many, but
mass-produced wallpaper was criticized for its poor
technical and artistic quality and called gravy with
sawdust and gold dust. In the 1930s Danish wallpaper
manufacturers and artists came together to produce
wallpaper patterns of a better quality and more up-to-date
expression than those found in the mass market.

Meanwhile, the new architectural and design movement of
functionalism strived for practical and styleless design,
which could also be applied to wallpaper. Many
functionalists designed patterns to raise the standard of
ordinary homes. Artists Wallpapers were the result,
combining quality with modern expression. These were
designed by painters, sculptors, architects, craftsmen and
illustrators. They included machine-printed and more
expensive hand-printed wallpapers.
<http://natmus.dk/en/>

The William Cullen Bryant homestead in Cummington,
Massachusetts has restored a wallpaper from the 1865-1872
period, when "Cullen" furnished his library, hub of his
activities after his retirement from 50 years as a newspaper
editor in New York:
<http://www.berkshireeagle.com/berkshirelifestyles/ci_262
99522/restoring-wall-wall-treasure-at-bryant-s-
homestead>


The internet is home to a growing number of web sites
from museums showing off their wallpaper collections. For
example:
Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna
http://sammlungen.mak.at/sdb/do/sammlung.state?id=17

Historic New England
http://www.historicnewengland.org/collections-archives-
exhibitions/collections-access/wallpaper


The Digital Museum (Swedish)
http://digitaltmuseum.se/search?query=tapeter&js=1

"papier peint" (wallpaper) at the National Library of France
http://gallica.bnf.fr/Search?ArianeWireIndex=index&p=1&
lang=EN&f_typedoc=images&q=papier+peint&x=21&y=1
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