PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Methods of wallpaper production and mounting
2.2. METHODS OF PRINTING
The subtlety and quality of an image or pattern were influenced
by methods of printing. Throughout history, various techniques
have been developed in an attempt to get a finer result. Although
there have been a large variety of techniques used to produce
wallpapers, the author will focus on the historical methods of
wallpaper production mentioned in the text. Such techniques
as stencilling, block printing, flocking, surface-printing and
embossing will be dealt with.
The value of a wallpaper depended on the way it was produced.
Usually its price depended on the material and method
of production. In terms of production, it can be said that the
more labour-intensive the production of a wallpaper is, the more
costly it is. Thus, hand-printed wallpapers are costlier than their
machine-printed counterparts. Even after it was possible to produce
wallpapers by machine, large manufacturers had a blockprinting
workshop to produce more luxurious wall covers.
2.2.1. Stencilling
During the early 18th century outlines of wallpaper patterns
were printed with woodblocks using black ink. The inner fields
of the elements were filled in either by hand or with a stencil.
Although the latter was gradually abandoned around 1780,
when block-printing had reached its peak, it is still possible to
find marks of stencilling on cheaper wallpapers from the late
18th century and early 19th century.
Templates were most commonly cut from a resistant material,
such as leather, card or thin metal. 180 Paint was either sprayed
or brushed on the cut-away parts. (Fig. 64) If stencilling was
carried out by brushing, this can be recognized by the presence
of multi-directional brush strokes ending abruptly at the edges
of solid-coloured pattern shapes, where outlines of colour often
collected and streaked. 181 (Fig. 65)
180
Lesley Hoskins, ed., Glossary. The Papered Wall. The History, Patterns and Techniques
of Wallpaper, 267.
181
Frangiamore, Wallpapers in Historic Preservation, 6.
111