Vintage Wallpaper 101

I'm passionate about vintage wallpaper.  If you've been reading my blog you've probably noticed. If I had to rank order my vintage obsessions, number one would be feedsack fabric yoyos, and number two would be vintage wallpaper.  Today I'd like you to get on board the vintage wallpaper bus with me, and we'll take a tour through the decades to get up to speed!

Our wallpaper tour begins with the papers popular during the Victorian era, when everything was over-the-top, lush, full of pattern upon pattern and color.  During the 1800's, wallpaper was printed with carved wooden blocks, some of which will still pop up in antique stores. I've never gotten my hands on actual paper from the 1800's, but I have acquired some of the printing blocks.

 

Designer William Morris had a huge influence on design during this time period.  Here is an example of a very stylized artichoke:

 
Even more complicated and elaborate designs were created as printing innovations came about.  Victorian homes required attention to every detail, and papers came in sections called "friezes",  the more familiar borders, ceiling medallions and more. To see examples of what I'm talking about, please take a detour to Bradbury and Bradbury Historical Wallpapers, and prepare to be amazed!  B & B also has a delightful blog that I just discovered.  One of their readers, Beverlee, submitted this photo of her incredible dining room she completed in an elaborate neoclassical B & B set of papers:

 
Photo credit:  Bradbury & Bradbury

American-made wallpaper circa 1910's was more readily available to the average Joe.  I have a nice example of paper from this era that I purchased from my friend Sharon that illustrates the artistry of early wallpaper (below).  Aren't the touches of gold metallic ink divine?  I love this paper so much I've had a hard time finding a use for it, because my hands start shaking if I even get near it with scissors!

 

The papers from the 1920's and 30's are also gorgeous, and still plentiful enough for us to acquire and use for various applications.  Marilyn Krehbiel, owner of Hannah's Treasures, a wonderful resource for a huge array of fantastic vintage papers from the 1920's through the 1970's, has generously allowed me to borrow some of her images to share with you.  Here is an example of one of Marilyn's offerings from the 1930's:

 

I've purchased a couple old wallpaper sample books that are really fun to peruse.  These pop up on eBay quite regularly, if you are interested.  I've taken my sample books to Staples and color copied my favorite patterns so I could use them in collage projects without tearing up the book.  The wallpaper sample books from the 1920's or 30's are much smaller that those huge, heavy books from later years that we are all familiar with.

This wallpaper book from 1926 is listed on eBay right now:

 

Look at the multiple layers of colors and pattern creating depth in this wonderful example:

 

Some of the borders available way-back-when:

 

This is what Grandma or Great Grandma wanted her living room to look like:

 

Styles changed with the times during the 1940's and 50's.  The colors during the 40's turned toward rather odd combinations such as gray, yellow, and maroon.  Exotic florals were introduced, such as large tropical flowers and huge palm fronds. Vinyl became a selling point for kitchen wallpaper during the late 1940's.  Homeowners were able to wallpaper every room in the house with specific papers designed for that room.  Angel fish in the bathroom, novelty paper with teapots in the kitchen, and florals in the bedroom. 

This example from Hannah's Treasures was undoubtedly intended for the powder room:

 

The 1950's homeowner wanted the all the modern appliances and wallpaper that represented the changing times.  During this era, more geometrics were used, including fun space-age designs. Pre-pasted wallpaper was a 1950's innovation and certainly convinced homeowners tired of stirring lumpy wheat paste to give wallpaper a try again.

This wallpaper sample book from the 1950's includes this abstract fish design.  It's for sale on eBay right now:

Near the tail end of the 1960's and into the 70's, the psychedelic era influenced wallpaper design, especially the colors.  Flocked wallpaper became popular, sometimes with "foil" or Mylar background.  Several years ago, I might have scoffed at these designs, thinking they were tacky. That might have been because I hadn't touched them and appreciated the craftsmanship that went into these wonderful papers. I've purchased several rolls of flocked papers, so I have quite a stash!  But I always want more.....

 

Let's take a look at a couple flocked paper samples, compliments of Hannah's Treasures, the go-to website to purchase vintage wallpaper at affordable prices.

First we have this devilishly red flocked paper for those that aren't afraid of color:

 

This bold plaid features flocked stripes on a silver Mylar background:

 

A little bit softer non-flocked floral pattern from the 1960's/70's with a sublime combination of colors:

 

What uses are people finding for vintage wallpaper?  One lovely example is Pressed Petal Designs, a new Etsy shop owned by Marilyn's daughter.  She creates note cards from authentic vintage papers.  Other uses include scrapbook projects, all sorts of decoupage applications, collages/mixed media, covered bandboxes, and even simply framing sections of the paper to use as wall decor. 

 

Are you still with me?  If so, let's stop at Second Hand Rose, a New York City store and another fabulous resource for vintage wallpaper. They also stock linoleum, which deserves its own blog post because it's so darn wonderful!  Although pricey, their selection of papers is simply fantastic, and their website is a work of art in itself. The collections of papers are organized by pattern for a visual feast of paper delicacies.  Think damask, floral, geometric, novelty and chinoiserie.  What's chinoiserie?  It's oriental scenic paper, with tranquil depictions of pagodas and Asian flora and fauna.  This style of paper seems to have increased in popularity lately. Can you see why?

 

If these beautiful wallpaper examples get your creative juices flowing, perhaps you should consider purchasing some vintage wallpaper to use in your winter craft projects.  As for me, I've been beavering away this month filling two large orders for my wallpaper cuff bracelets.  These are a great way to show appreciation for vintage wallpaper and will attract attention every time they are worn.  I've got several listed in my Etsy shop right now.  The examples below are for a customer that plans to give these as gifts to friends and family this year:

 

I hope you didn't mind a little sales pitch at the end of our bus tour.  Thanks for coming along with me, and as always, I appreciate you, my readers, for spending time visiting my blog!

Mitzi 

Comments

[Sarsaparilla]

What a fabulous tour this was! Thank you! I can see why vintage wallpaper has become a passion of yours. I'm going to have to start hunting for some samples and see if I can come up with a creative use for it. Cuff bracelets! I never would have dreamed that up. Beautiful!

Oh, and I love that 1800's butterfly printing block. How big is it? Pretty tiny, I suppose. You find the most intriguing things...

Have a great weekend!

[sharon]

hi mitzi! beautiful post! wish i could step into grandma's living room, also the diamond shape with the flowers in the middle. *sigh* i would love that in my playhouse! wow, i never knew the history of wall paper, thank you! in the 60's my mom had a wallpaper book full of flocked designs, wish i had it today! keep warm!

[Amanda]

I always learn so much from your blog, love it! Beautiful wallpapers, I want all of them... even the mylar one!

[Bev C]

Hello Mitzi,

Who knew that wall paper could be so elaborate. Thank you for a little bit of history,it was most interesting.
Happy days.
Bev.xoxo

[Beth Leintz]

...sigh....I love vintage wallpaper. I think this is the first "history" of wallpaper I've ever read-beautiful pictures- love your cuffs- what a great way to show off some of those great designs.

[Autumn Luciano]

I love the wallpaper you posted! I'm very in love with antique wallpapers, I love the stuff from the 20s-40s the most I think. I wanted to do a wall or two in some sort of reproduction vintage print but Kevin talked me out of it. I'm sure wallpapering isn't easy, and that repo. stuff is pricey! Maybe in our next home we'll break it out! Since we're only renting I wouldn't want to waste it on this place anyway!

[Susan]

i have a small collection of vintage papers i just love them! your cuffs are gorgeous! susan

[Lisa]

Hey Mitzi,

Thanks for the vintage wallpaper post. I too love vintage wallpaper, mostly of the pink roses variety and use it in lots of projects. So hard to use that last bit of a favorite pattern though. Have a fun week!

Hugs,

Lisa

[wini]

Dear Mitzi, fantastic post!! I too love vintage wallpaper and the designs of William Morris. How wonderful that you acquired some printing blocks! I like the butterfly block you've pictured. Have you tried using the blocks in a project? That would be so cool. The wallpaper cuffs are a great idea and so pretty! Have a lovely weekend!

[Mitzi Curi]

Thanks, Wini!

I havent tried to print anything with the butterfly block, but now that you mention it, I think it would look lovely on a t-shirt. I might have to give that a try.

Thanks, as always, for reading my blog. I still marvel at the fact that I have friends around the world now!

Mitzi

[Cindy]

There is just something about vintage wallpaper...its so lovely! LOVE the cuffs...beautiful!

-c