Neoclassic Wallpaper

Photo by Fritz Von der Schulenburg | Neoclassicism in the North | Groth | Rizzoli, 1990

This is not wallpaper. Far from it. You're looking at the 1823 bedroom of King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden. The room was meant to resemble a battlefield tent, and it was the popular bedroom fashion for the crowned heads of the Napoleonic era. A prime example is Empress Josephine's bedroom at Malmaison, below.

The French Empire Style  |  Alvar Gonzalez-Palacios  |  Hamlyn, 1970

For those unable to buy tons of satin and velvet, there was always wallpaper — and very regal wallpaper, too.

L'Art de Vivre  |  The Vendome Press, 1989

Architectural Digest, October, 1995

L'Art de Vivre  |  The Vendome Press, 1989

The three previous images are the designs of Xavier Mader, who worked in France for the Dufour company, from 1808 to 1823. These wallpapers are an interesting social statement; while the nobility lost political relevance in France, and as the middle class grew, the preferred aesthetics remained that of the nobility.

L'Art de Vivre  |  The Vendome Press, 1989

This anonymous, delicate French wallpaper design includes the framed prints below the fabric and the surface behind them — wallpaper of fabric upon fabric.

Photo, Robert Lautman | Greek Revival America  | Kennedy | Stewart Tabori & Chang, 1989

The Neoclassic fashion of curtained wallpaper extended to the United States. This is the dining room of the Campbell-Whittlesey House, in Rochester, New York. It dates to 1836.

Photo by Mick Hales  |  In the Neoclassic Style  |  Fleischmann  |  Thames and Hudson, 1988

Because it's so classic, wallpaper of draped fabric has a very stylish, contemporary look.

Adelphi Paper Hangings is a company that hand blocks historic wallpapers, including colonial and Empire designs. The story of their custom designs is most interesting, and you can access them here.

.......................................................

You'll notice a new feature on my sidebar — "Antique Button of the Month." Every month I'll be sharing a new button from my own collection. I hope you enjoy them — I think you'll find that Victorian buttons were amazingly detailed and jewel-like.