Waterhouse Wallhangings

Wallpaper beguiles us with a whimsical variety of visual conceits, and simply exists as wonderful evidence of human creativity Our collection contains many authentic reproductions of original wallpapers that were first used in this country, circa 1700-1895. During these years, sea captains returning from trading in France, England, and the Orient,... brought back with them, as part of their cargo, handmade papers. These were designed by true artists who excelled in the creation and painting of wall hangings. Many of their designs were inspired by the valuable brocades and tapestries which adorned the homes of wealthy nobles and merchants. These imported papers were sold for the most part in New England seaport cities and towns. Our sister company-Thomas Strahan Company, started selling mostly imported wallpapers in Boston in 1866 and several years later started manufacturing their own wallpaper collection, eventually creating over 12,000 designs. (5600 images from the archives can be found at www.wallpaperaficionado.com.) The oldest ( modern day) wallpaper company in America is Thomas Strahan founded in 1866, A.L. Diament in 1885, Thibaut in 1886, F. Schumacher in 1889, York Wallpaper in 1895, and Nancy McCelland Inc. in 1922. In 1937 Dorothy and Clifford Waterhouse bought the Captain Jimmy Fish house on Cape Cod, circa 1799. During the renovation Dorothy uncovered seven layers of wallpaper- the early layers were hand blocked prints, some with the royal (English/ French) seals and tax stamps intact on the back of the papers. Dorothy was smitten by the many layers of lovely designs with charming colorways, some of the earliest were quite primitive in execution. For many years thereafter, Dorothy Waterhouse visited lovely old New England homesteads, searching beneath layers of wallpaper or paint - or in attics, trunks, and old boxes - for fragments of original wall hangings. . The results have been rewarding, for many documentary papers have been found with colors and designs almost as true as the day the papers ...Read More