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Pattern: Floral

Geranium Trellis

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Chinese trellis designs seem to be the inspiration for this British pattern.  Although there was not a complete repeat of this pattern, which was discovered lining a trunk, there was sufficient information for a successful reconstruction. With its rambling vines, strict trellis structure and subtly shifting hexagonal lozenge shapes, this pattern illustrates a fine and … Continued

Ghost Blossom

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Little is known about this fanciful vine pattern, aside from it being found in a cupboard in western North Carolina. The unexpectedly graphic depiction of transparency, plus the dramatic color choices (in the original) would be equally at home in designs of the early 20th century. This pattern is licensed to Adelphi Paper Hangings by the Colonial … Continued

Old Manse Vine

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The delicately undulating vine design which still lines a bedchamber closet at The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, was installed between 1790 and 1800. The house was built by Reverend William Emerson, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s grandfather, and his wife Phoebe who chose this wallpaper for the upstairs bedchamber. Later, when writer Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife Sophia … Continued

West St. Mary’s

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This wallpaper has been reproduced from worn fragments discovered in West St. Mary’s City, Maryland; the original document is part of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation collection. The wallpaper designer borrowed heavily from textile motifs, as was often the case during this portion of the 18th century. Cross hatching inside s-scroll ribbons gives the appearance of … Continued

Norton Conyers Diamond

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Norton Conyers is a mid-14th Century house in North Yorkshire, England with Tudor, Stuart and Georgian additions. The home has been owned and occupied by the Graham family continuously since 1624. In the midst of a major renovation several years ago, the current Grahams discovered sizable fragments of this large scale paper in the Head … Continued

Flowerbaskets

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Adelphi’s Janes & Bolles Collection is reproduced from the earliest known American wallpaper sample book, now in the collection of Old Sturbridge Village. It was produced by the firm of Janes & Bolles, which operated from 1822-1827 in Hartford, Connecticut. The sample book provides 22-inch square samples of each pattern, with alternate colorways for most … Continued

Elmwood Floral

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The Elmwood Floral pattern is from the Cambridge, Massachusetts mansion of Thomas Oliver, built in 1767. It was the first of three layers found in the parlor behind a mid-19th century bookcase. Because of the absence of a tax stamp on the reverse of the original document, it is unlikely to have been an English … Continued

Cooperstown Bouquet

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This splendid example of a provincial “Rainbow” pattern was discovered lining a small trunk in Fly Creek, New York. Attempting to imitate the shimmering effect of woven silk, the rainbow or irisé (pronounced eer-ee-zay) technique was invented by Michel Spoerlin in 1819 in the French region of Alsace. Rainbow wallpaper became wildly popular in France … Continued

Chestertown Vine

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The surviving document for Chestertown Vine was found in the Buck-Bacchus Store, the oldest commercial building in Chestertown, Maryland (and also the home of Adelphi’s Buck-Bacchus Border). The building was constructed in 1735 by John Buck, a wealthy Devonshire, England merchant who expanded his business holdings in the Colonies. The building was purchased by William … Continued

Carnations and Shells

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Carnations and Shells may well be the earliest complete repeats of a wallpaper motif found in situ in the United States. There are two samples of it in the Historic New England archives, one from the Cowing House in Weymouth, Massachusetts, and a larger sample with “Whipple House” scribbled on the back. The Whipple House … Continued