PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Methods of wallpaper production and mounting
leaving visible joins. It could be applied to a layer of canvas or
directly on a wall, which meant that the prints could be easily
damaged by humidity. 225
Another method that offered better protection was considerably
costlier and was very often used for prints or other
expensive wall covers. A fine canvas was stretched on a wooden
frame and pasted over with two layers of paper. After the paper
had dried, it was painted with distemper, which left a fine matte
finish. 226 It was then pasted over with prints and paper applications
that formed the print room scheme.
A method frequently used in Central Europe involved the
use of wood strips with tapered edges. The evidence of its use
has been found in Graz, painted wallpapers from Alois Gleichenberger
(1804), in the Landshut residence, in Birkenfeldzimmer
French wallpapers from 1803 and elsewhere. 227 The raw plastered
walls were first covered with canvas. Although no residues
have been detected so far, it is possible that light animal glue
(rabbit skin glue or bone glue) or starch paste was used. In the
corners of the room and on the upper and lower edges of each
wall segment, narrow tapered wooden strips were nailed onto
the wall, fixing the canvas on the desired location. The wooden
strips on the edges of the canvas were covered with a layer of
lining paper before attaching the wallpaper.
Although mounting methods were generally the same, special
care needed to be taken with complicated paper decorations
created on modular bases, such as papier en feuille, decórs complets
and panoramic wallpapers.
To avoid common mistakes, panoramic wallpapers were
equipped with detailed descriptions and sketches. Additionally,
all the wallpaper lengths were numbered or even titled, as
for example in the case of Amor and Psyche from Manufacture
Dufour (1815). Although great care was taken to avoid mistakes,
they still occurred. If a panoramic wallpaper with continuous
225
Fitzgerald, “The Georgian print-room explored”, 15.
226
Ibidem.
227
Kallaste, Kadri, Krön, Markus. Two Approaches to Mounting and Dismounting of
Historic Wallpapers on Example of Conservation Projects Carried Out in Austria.
Article submitted for the IIC Congress Vienna 2012. Unpublished manuscript, 2011.
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