PRESERVATION OF WALLPAPERS AS PARTS OF INTERIORS

Methods of wallpaper production and mounting
depiction was used, the fields above doors were papered with an
area of sky. Another option was to cover the area with a small
composition that matched the colour and motifs of the wallpaper,
but didn’t form a continuous composition with the rest. In
the case of a hidden door, the whole field of the door, together
with the over-door, were covered with the same length of paper.
As a general rule, wallpaper strips were attached to canvas and
hung above the dado. To avoid furniture breaking its continuity,
the horizon of the depiction needed to be placed at the height of
the observer’s eyes, i.e. about 150–170 cm from the floor.
Although almost all scenic wallpapers allowed a perfect join
between the last and the first pieces, 228 it was not always possible
to present the whole length of the decoration, for rooms were
of different heights and sizes, and the surface of the walls was
occasionally interrupted by windows and doors. In such cases,
the owners needed to decide which parts of the wallpaper were
to be used. The harmonious effect of the finished room was
crucially dependent on the proper positioning of the individual
scenes on the wall. 229 Separate scenes could be treated as large
paintings, which were framed in and decorated with additional
accessory elements, such as borders depicting architectural ornaments,
pilasters, over-doors and over-mantles. However, such
a treatment was not always used. If an owner found it important
to emphasize the narrative character of a panorama, even
doors were papered.
The scheme of decór-complets consisted of a balanced
arrangement of fields, borders, cornices, pilasters and central
applications. The common formula was 3-5-3; for example, one
central panel 127 cm wide could be flanked by two other panels,
each 76.2 cm in width. 230 Borders ran through doorways and
fireplaces. In addition, they were used to outline each wall.
In the late 1830s and the beginning of the 1840s the first
machines were invented to produce endless strips of paper
economically and at greater speed. Previously, sheets of paper
228
Nouvel-Kammerer, “Wide Horizons:...”, 98.
229
Ibidem.
230
Kelly, “Historic Paper-hanging Techniques:...”, 6.
133