Wallpaper Maza: wallpapers

Tuesday, 21 August 2012

wallpapers

Wallpapers Biogoraphy
The wallpaper on show at the museum was all found in and around the town of Epsom and dates between 1680 and 1720.

Sean Khan, who collected the samples of the wallpaper from homes in Epsom and wrote a book about the pieces he found, explained that Epsom was the first town to be built with brick after the fire of London and the smooth walls enabled wallpaper to go up.

He said: "It is the first wallpaper as we understand it and it is in Epsom, but they called it paper tapestry. It put Epsom on the map."

Jeremy Hart, the curator of Bourne Hall museum, explained that the wallpaper was a symbol of status in the 1600s and it gave people an identity.

He said: "The people were constantly watching each others backs. You had a lot of people asking 'who am I' and this really is status that you could paste up on your walls.

"It fascinates people, partly because you can relate to it, we've all done decorating but also because it is unveiling this history behind a lot of buildings.

"One man has been unveiling history in his house, uncovering layers of history going back to the 15th century. Part of that is a physical process of uncovering the layers of wallpaper."

David Brooks added: "This local history in Ewell is part of national and international history. This is some of the earliest wallpapers, not just in this country, but in the world."

wallpapers