Wall Paper

Wall Paper

10-18-09

Dimmick: 10:00-11:00

Ceiling: Parlor

Clearly Continuous roll in Japanese style of paper. The colors reflect the browns and maroons that are indicative of this style of paper. The interpretive signage offers that the papers are reflective of the 1870’s but there seems to be almost a metallic look to the paper and it seems to almost have a texture.

On the Walls: there ate three separate panels the wall looks art and craft to me. On the bottom of the wall are butterflies and dragonflies. There is faux Asian lattice work that borders it, with the same olive and gold colors. There is a blue grey pattern of swirls in the background.

The paper must be of high quality as there is limited browning. There is little peeling or flaking. There is evidence of loss of color due to water damage on the walls

Upstairs in Moore11:10-12:30

Outer layers remind me of what I saw in Dimmick. the colors and lines seem to suggest a similar pattern and paper-Machine Made paper. The flaking allows some inspection to determine that is woven and better than the earlier quality papers.

The under layers are various qualities of paper. The earliest seem to be a cheaper variety as it is browning and crinkling. The paper goes from block printing on the bottom to at least two types of paper that look like they are machine painted to me.

East Wall features a block printed pattern with a finial and a diamond shape in the center of two less than symbols with dots on the inside of the angels. The paper looks like it is machine printed.

Moore Front sitting Room. Paper looks hand ground under close inspection but it is really hard to tell. The paper is in single sheets and is block printed with distemper paint. I can’t tell what kind of paper as it is on the wall.

Around the mantle e see the Greek border that is characteristic of the mid 19^th century and you can see it repeated throughout the house around the accents and woodwork.

On the North wall you can find places where the paper has been attached. I think this is just evidence of long sheets that are connected with hide glue.

Looking at both of these homes tell us a great deal about he people of the 19^th century

It is clear that the fundamentals of color line shape and movement were important to the everyday aesthetic sensibilities to the 19^th century home.

The layer upon layer that reveal the latest development in printing and changing qualities of paper show that updates occurred frequently in the home, and paper was the chosen medium for adorning the walls.

I really appreciate the beautiful way the Moore house has been done to show this off. Just as people enjoy home improvement television and design shows no, people ere clearly passionate about the ways the decorated their home in this time period.