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July 30, 2009
Period Wallpaper?
I discovered this wallpaper, only in a small strip, underneath some wood panel-mimicking-a-handrail thing by the staircase. Wondering if anybody can tell what time period it is from. It kind of looks like it was preserved by the strip of wood it was beneath while the rest of the wall had it removed. The wall is sheetrock so it's not as old as I hoped, but it still seems vintage to me? wishful thinking maybe? not sure.
Comments
Guessing from the intensity of the colors and the pattern, my guess is early 70s. What does the paper feel like, texturally?
Posted by: Architerrorist at July 30, 2009 9:53 AM
I have no idea, but it's pretty! I like cool wallpaper.
Posted by: new2hood at July 30, 2009 9:55 AM
1870s?
Posted by: dittoburg at July 30, 2009 9:56 AM
It looks very deco to me - 20s maybe?
Posted by: Arkady at July 30, 2009 10:10 AM
I think the fuschia is problematic.
Posted by: Architerrorist at July 30, 2009 10:21 AM
Isn't it a bit bendy and natural to be deco? Do you mean art noveau?
We need someone who knows what they are talking about.
Posted by: dittoburg at July 30, 2009 10:22 AM
Do a google search for "vintage wallpaper" or some such. find a couple of companies that specialize in vintage reporductions and email them along with your picture.
Posted by: SenatorStreet at July 30, 2009 10:24 AM
Definitely not art nouveau. Not stylizied enough.
Posted by: Architerrorist at July 30, 2009 10:46 AM
Could honestly be anywhere from the 20's to the 70's. Are you saying that the wallpapered wall is sheetrock, or are you referring to the sheetrock on top of the wallpaper? These small floral patterns were popular throughout most of the 20th century.
Because we see old paint and wallpaper after it's been on a wall exposed to sunlight and dirt for 80 plus years, we tend to forget that strong, vibrant colors have always been very popular. The herringbone background pattern adds another level of sophistication to the pattern, and it may be from a better wall paper company. I would take SenatorStreet's suggestion, and inquire from the major, and older, wallpaper companies.
Posted by: Montrose Morris at July 30, 2009 10:46 AM
Definitely not art nouveau. Not stylized enough.
Posted by: Architerrorist at July 30, 2009 10:46 AM
Pigment and fibers are the most surefire way to date vintage textiles, papers, etc... if it is amgbiguous. Is the material paper or cloth?
Posted by: Architerrorist at July 30, 2009 10:50 AM
some colors were not technically possible before the 50s.
Posted by: Architerrorist at July 30, 2009 11:07 AM
Amazing what you can find behind sheetrock in an older home... We found gold lame, not gold paper, mind you, but gold fabric, on the walls of our staircase in our DP house.
Posted by: Architerrorist at July 30, 2009 11:09 AM
It looks like the 70's fabric-backed vinyl stuff to me. Ebay has given my own house quite a few examples of that.
Posted by: Heather at July 30, 2009 11:17 AM
I thought Montrose would know exactly what it was at a glance! Anyway, my thought is that it looks somewhat like some of the wallpapers my parents had in their Jersey City brownstone in the late '40s, and I think they renovated when they married and bought the place in 1948.
Posted by: dylanfan at July 30, 2009 11:18 AM
I'm just not seeing any 1970's-ness in this wallpaper.
Posted by: dittoburg at July 30, 2009 11:20 AM
the paper has some texture to it, like you can feel the ink/paint lines. The paper seems thin.
I believe the house was built around the turn-of-the-century.
it seems to be on top of a layer of sheetrock which I dont think started until the 20's? I'm not sure...
Posted by: townhouser at July 30, 2009 11:35 AM
It looks like a 1970s revival of Art Nouveau.
Posted by: mopar at July 30, 2009 11:42 AM
Yeah, the reason I say 70's are those small lines that look like texture. Textured wallpaper = extremely 70's and usually vinyl. And there was an art nouveau revival kinda then... I think? I keep thinking of fern bars for some reason.
Posted by: Heather at July 30, 2009 12:31 PM
I didn't see texture - it looked like ink cross-hatching to me.
Isn't there a Met. expert here?
Posted by: dittoburg at July 30, 2009 1:05 PM
Is the texture from the cross hatching, or is it just decorative? I still say early '70s.
Posted by: Architerrorist at July 30, 2009 1:19 PM
perhaps we should have a widget with dates?
Posted by: dittoburg at July 30, 2009 1:35 PM
I suggest you have it carbon dated. That will end any ambiguity. The Brooklyn Museam could probably guide you to the nearest carbon dating facility. It's different from speed dating.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at July 30, 2009 3:31 PM
Museum
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at July 30, 2009 3:31 PM
Second Hand Rose deals with antique and vintage wallpaper. They should know.
Posted by: rh at July 30, 2009 3:35 PM
yes its like ink crosshatching to create the effect. It seems to be ink on thin paper. I don't think it's vinyl. If it's the 70s I'm quite impressed as it really reminds me of art deco style - if I knew the name of the flower I might be able to narrow down my googling a bit more...
I emailed 2ndHand earlier today, lets see if they have an idea...
Posted by: townhouser at July 30, 2009 9:55 PM
I would suggest taking a photo or a sample to Secondhand Rose. They have a website with all their contact info.
Posted by: Nobrokersplease at July 31, 2009 8:47 AM
The flowers might be violets...
Posted by: kelly at July 31, 2009 9:30 AM
...the leaves are NOT violet leaves, but the flower kind of is...
scilla and ipheion have those long slender leaves but I don't think they come in purple...
Posted by: kelly at July 31, 2009 9:34 AM
so this is what 2nd rose said:
It looks like an L'art nouveau paper, but if on sheet rock it must be a repro from the 70's. Looks original though.
which means that the general consensus above was quite good!
Brownstoners impress me once again.
Thanks all....I'm trying to preserve it either way, I think it's interesting and gives even more story and charm to this place.
Posted by: townhouser at July 31, 2009 2:18 PM
woo hoo - I get half a point!
Posted by: dittoburg at July 31, 2009 3:00 PM
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