PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Methods of wallpaper production and mounting
round niche with a wallpaper is illustrated in the sixth sheet.
It is commonly believed that wallpapers were hung only on
walls. However, in the 18th- and 19th-century house decorative
panels could also serve to ornament ceilings. 220 Most commonly
they were used in Victorian interiors in England.
According to the instructions of J.-M. Papillon, two layers
of thick paper needed to be attached to cover the uneven surface
of a ceiling. Visible gaps between paper sheets had to be
covered with thin strips of paper.
A ceiling decoration consisting of several separate details
was usually made up of two layers: a plain ground and cut-out
decorative details. Before applying paper to the ceiling, the central
subject and its surrounding border needed to be fixed in
their dimensions. The use of a plain ground and an outer border
were flexible. In the case of the latter, it could vary in width, or
could be eliminated altogether, when the cornice of the room
served to finish off both the wall hanging and the ceiling. 221
Characteristics of early installations were unevenly trimmed
strip-edges and large overlaps. As the first step before hanging
a paper, selveges needed to be cut with scissors or shears, which
often left a wavering trim-line. Trimming was usually carried
out by decorators themselves. One needed to sit down, hold a
roll with one hand and trim it with the other, with wallpaper
cradled on the floor or one’s lap.
When a strip was hung, a trimmed edge covered an untrimmed
edge of a previously mounted strip. Although it was not always
true, wallpaper was generally hung away from a source of light,
e.g. a window, to avoid the shadow creating an overlap.
To cover mistakes made by a paper-hanger, such additional
applications as borders and edgings made of metal, wood or
composition (e.g. papier-mache) were used. Thomas Chippendale
divided such edgings into two groups: those fitting for
paper hangings, and those meant for borders of damask or
220
de Bruignac – La Hougue, “Arabesques and Allegories:...”, 93.
221
S. Le Normand, Annales de l’Industrie nationale et ètrangére, 46 cited in Véronique de
Bruignac – La Hougue “Arabesques and Allegories: ...” in The Papered Wall. The History,
Patterns and Techniques of Wallpaper, edited by Lesley Hoskins (London: Thames &
Hudson, 2005), 93.
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