PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Methods of wallpaper production and mounting
patented by Jean Zuber in 1826. The principle of taille-douce,
as it was called, meant laying colour on paper with the aid of
engraved brass cylinders. 191 The pattern was formed by small
cavities engraved in the surface of a cylinder. The deeper the
cavity, the darker the mark on the paper. Such a technique
made it possible to archive various shades of a single colour
with the aid of only one roller. Despite their fine and graphic
appearance, papers produced by this method did not have the
expected commercial success.
In 1840 the manufacturers C. & J. G. Potter & Company 192
introduced wooden cylinders with raised surfaces, which
employed the principles of block-printing. Each colour needed
to be printed by a separate roller. In comparison to block-printed
wallpapers, the size of the surface-printed repeat was relatively
short, and the motifs were smaller in scale and less elaborate.
(Fig. 72) To avoid paint mixing, and blurring the outcome, separate
colours were usually printed as individual patches, rather
than on top of each other. 193 Simpler patterns used up to four
cylinders. With more elaborate patterns, the number could
increase to 15–20. (Fig. 73)
The printing surfaces were formed by fine brass elements
tapped into the wooden core of the cylinder. Fine details, such as
lines and dots, were printed with bare brass elements. The outlines
of larger areas were formed by strips of brass, which were
tightly stuffed with felt. (Fig. 74) After the cylinders had been
attached to a machine, each was coated with a separate colourfed
belt, which provided it with an appropriate colour. 194
Surface-printed wallpapers are easy to recognize. If one
keeps in mind that the papers were printed with cylinders rolling
in one certain direction, an edge (a “lip”) is formed on one
verge of a defined shape. In addition, since the thin paint used
for printing did not dry quickly, different colours could flow into
each other, resulting in a picturesque effect. (Fig. 75)
191
Nouvel, Wallpapers in France, 23.
192
Banham, “The English Response:...”, 135.
193
Luthmer, Werkbuch des Dekorateurs, 75.
194
Frangiamore, Wallpapers in Historic Preservation, 12.
119