PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Methods of wallpaper production and mounting
mounted on the wall. Most commonly, a fine sewn linen canvas
was used for this purpose.
To achieve a smoother outcome, the canvas may have been
covered with a layer of lining-paper before covering it with a
wallpaper. In Europe, a cheap and thick lining-paper called
“elephant” was used. A find of early lining layer from the 1860s
found in the Juuru vicarage in Estonia involved using recycled
paper. This particular example consisted of tiny pieces of paper
carrying a text in Cyrillic. Since a layer of thick lining-paper could
absorb paste and superfluous humidity from the wallpaper, it
left a very smooth surface for delicate and costly goods. 218 To
get even a finer finish, the lining-paper may have been polished
with a pumice stone. Hanging wallpapers on a canvas base protected
them from humidity and decreased the chance of wooden
walls splitting during seasonal contractions.
Illustrations provided in the book Die Tapete. Raumdekoration
aus fünf Jahrhunderten. Geschichte. Material. Herstellung
(1982) 219 show feather-drawings made by J.-M. Papillon around
1759 for an encyclopaedia published by Diderot. Besides numerous
depictions of producing wallpaper, various methods of papering
walls are shown. Out of seven sheets, five show various stages
and methods of hanging wallpapers. The third sheet shows men
preparing the surface of a wall before papering. According to the
illustration, residues of old paint were washed off the wall with
hot water, and cracks were puttied and covered with strips of
attached paper. The fourth sheet depicts paper-hangers marking
the location of the wallpaper and borders. Long vertical and
horizontal lines were applied to the wall with the help of a string
dusted with ochre. Different stages of papering are depicted in
the fifth sheet. Paper-hangers are shown evening crooked corners
with pieces of paper, attaching sheets of paper from top to
bottom and examining the straightness of the wallpaper strip
edge with a lead solder. Covering a wooden beam ceiling and a
218
Kelly, “Historic Paper-hanging Techniques:...”, 3.
219
Francoise Teynac, Pierre Nolot and Jean-Denis Vivien, Die Tapete. Raumdekoration
aus fünf Jahrhunderten. Geschichte. Material. Herstellung (München: Verlag Georg
D. W. Callwey, 1982), 28–34.
129