Development of Wallpaper and Fabric Printing - Essay Example

Lecturer Development of Wallpaper and Fabric Printing Introduction Wallpapers are popular methods for decorating walls and other backgrounds. However, in the history of art wallpapers are easily forgotten. In this paper we trace the origins of wallpaper and fabric printing and how the two areas of printing technology have influenced each other. Furthermore, the effect the two areas have had on the quality on the life of individuals is also discussed. According to Watt, wallpapers continues to influence everyday life many years after the early Chinese papers and the scenic wallpaper found in 19th century France. The choices of the wallpaper in house affect the overall style and mood in houses. Wallpaper further serve to enhance the aesthetic appeal of a room. According to William Morris what one puts in their wall distinguishes a house from a home (Victoria and Albert Museum). In the views of Morris failure to decorate your house gives you home a temporary lodging feel. People however still regard wallpapers as cheap imitation of real art (Victoria and Albert Museum). While some people find wallpapers clean, attractive and durable, wallpapers continue to be affected by their imitative past. Watt notes the criticism of wallpapers is justified as they lack originality as they seek to imitate silk drapery, masonry, wood or murals. Wallpapers were profoundly influenced by textile, wall hangings and draperies. Wallpaper was preceded by textile wall hangings. In the early days, wall papers were meant to imitate pattern, styles and textures of fabrics (Victoria and Albert Museum). As early as the 18th century, homes were combining wallpaper decorations with fabrics of the same pattern as narrated by Horace Walpole in 1753 (Victoria and Albert Museum). Earlier in the 16th century, houses in England were decorated using painted clothes draperies and wainscot. In the view of Sir William Harrison these wallpapers made houses feel warmer and much better places to live (Velut, 58). The houses on Sackville Street in London were redeveloped in 1730 and taken up by minor nobility and profession (Victoria and Albert Museum). The trade cards for these professionals were very similar to the patterns and designs they used to decorate their houses. Chippendale at Paxton house specialized in the supply of Chintz paper for use in decorating the closet and Bedchamber that closely resembled Cotton (Victoria and Albert Museum). Development in textile mirrored the development of wallpapers. The industrial revolution enabled the development of clothes of various patterns, the spinning jenny and the steam engine enabled the automation of the loom and the production of clothes of similar fashion in the 18th century. Watt notes that France remained the leading source of both luxury clothing designs and wallpapers. French manufacturers were able to produce wallpapers that imitated the designs of Lyon silk (Jenkins 26). The French wallpaper industry was located in the provincial town of Lyon were most of the textile industry was also located. The two industries continued to borrow heavily from each other. Mechanical methods of printing designs on fabrics were also used in printing wallpapers. One of these early techniques is the wood-block printing technique (Velut 57). The popularity of the woodblock printing technique continued into the 19th century despite the speed that could be achieved by copper-roller printing (Velut, 61). Wallpaper printing still used hand-block printing to produce a larger variety of patterns (Jenkins, 28). The hand-block technique was succeeded by the roller printing technology developed in England in the 1780’s. The roller printing technique increased the speed of printing fabric significantly. Roller printer could do the work of twenty hand-block printers (Victoria and Albert Museum). Initially, roller printers could only print in a single color, additional colors were added by hand-block printers. By the 1860, roller printers had the ability to print with eight colors at the same time (Victoria and Albert Museum). By the 20th century roller printers were printing with more than twenty colors simultaneously As the development in fabric printing continued wallpaper printing was changing too (Victoria and Albert Museum). Late 18th century wallpapers could imitate the delicate patterns of lue flowers. Wallpapers found in Uppark (Sussex) resemble embroidery and had cable-pattern for the border (Victoria and Albert Museum). The sprigged wallpaper pattern which is rooted in fabric patterns retains its appeal to date. The block-printed wallpaper of the 18th century was derived from sprigged muslins and printed cottons. However, block printing in wallpapers as in fabric was succeeded by machine printing (Victoria and Albert Museum). The middle market still purchases wallpaper based on these simple designs (Victoria and Albert Museum). Between 1830 and 1850 these patterns were very popular for decorating bedroom walls. French manufacturers because of their exposure to the textile industry contributed significantly to the development of high quality wallpapers and pioneered many wallpaper design (Velut 55). Reveillon a top french wallpaper manufacturer excelled in producing silk pattern that looked like multicolored flocks (Victoria and Albert Museum). French manufacturers went as far as mixing paint with vanish the give the finished wallpapers a silk shine. Irise was another technique for mixing colors to give a silky effect (Velut 60). By the early, 19th century French wallpaper could not be differentiated with draperies from a distance (Victoria and Albert Meuseum). By the 19th century it was fashionable to decorate houses with wallpapers that closely imitated satin, silk or velvet (Victoria and Albert Museum). The paper was either folded vertically, tied, swagged, looped and bordered with braids, tassels and cords. According to Watt these wallpapers looked exactly like the fabrics they were imitating. The effect of these developments of the quality of life was profound. People were able to decorate house more easily and cheaply (Jenkins 38). Fabric printing enabled the availability of many fashionable patterns for clothes. Eventually the fabric and wallpaper printing technology led to the reduction in cost of wallpaper, draperies and clothes. Today wallpapers continues to set the moods in homes and provide the warmth and excitement in a home. Conclusion The development of wallpaper design borrows heavily from fabric printing technology. In every period of development wall paper designers were using designs and patterns produced for fabrics to produce wallpapers. Both developments in fabric printing and wallpaper printing have a significant positive effect on individual’s quality of life. Works Cited Jenkins, David, ed. The Cambridge History of Western Textiles. 2 vols.. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Velut, Christine. "Between Invention and Production The Role of Design in the Manufacture of Wallpaper in France and England at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century." Journal of Design History 17.1 (2004): 55-69. Victoria and Albert Museum. Textile influences on wallpaper. 2014. Web. 4 Feb 2014. http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/textile-influences-on-wallpaper/ Watt, Melinda. Nineteenth-Century European Textile Production. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2000. Web. 4 Feb 2014. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/txtn/hd_txtn.htm (October 2004) Read More