A Layered Approach Part I: Studying Wallpaper in Historic Homes
The wallpaper found in historic homes richly offers insight into the families that once occupied its rooms. Read along to learn about what stories we can draw from the 25 layers of wallpaper uncovered in the John Brown House’s Ballroom, how these layers have been documented, removed, and conserved, and the augmented reality project currently in development with Brock University Department of Digital Humanities that aims to decorate the walls of the ballroom with these historic patterns once again.
Think back to the very first time you got to choose a new paint colour or wallpaper for your bedroom. There’s a certain liberating feeling that accompanies being able to express ourselves through the decoration of a space we can call our own. The colour, pattern, texture, and even function of what we apply to the walls of our private living spaces presents a visual, outward expression of how we want to be seen in the public realm.
The earthy colours and bold floral patterns of this wallpaper calls directly to the groovy styles of the 1970s. This wallpaper decorated the landing, and stood triumphant as the outermost layer when The Brown Homestead’s Executive Director acquired this heritage site in 2015. The Brown Homestead Collection.
This sort of decorative freedom is not new, in fact, the ornamental possibilities of wallpaper emerged in the homes of the middle class by the 1840s. And we only have to look to the walls of the John Brown House to appreciate just how popular this form of decorative expression was. Within the footprint of the house’s original Ballroom alone, we have documented at least 25 layers of wallpaper that once covered the partition walls of two bedrooms and a landing. That’s 25 expressions of personality, interior fashion trends, and decorative agency. The first of these layers dates back to at least the 1860s, with subsequent layers pasted over top of one another through to the 1970s. Patterns range from the intricate details of block-printed delicate florals, to grey minimalism, to groovy flower power styles. Studying the wallpaper of the John Brown House can offer colourful, and surprisingly intimate, insight into the farming families who called this house home.
Situating the Space: The Brown Family Ballroom
The Brown Homestead acquired the John Brown House and its grounds in 2015, and recently restored the Brown family Ballroom to its original blueprint. The 1860s partition wall with remaining wallpaper layers has been preserved, with plans for display in the future. The Brown Homestead.
Built in 1802, it comes as no surprise that the rooms of the John Brown House have changed shape and size over time to accommodate the needs of its families. What first served as a space where the Brown family could entertain guests was later divided into separate bedrooms by a partition wall shortly after 1858. At this time, Joseph and Elizabeth Chellew had purchased the home and required more sleeping quarters for their large family of 11 children. By the 1890s, Joseph Chellew Jr. purchased the house from his parents and his young family moved in.
The two bedroom footprint seemed to remain intact until about the 1950s, when a landing was created, linoleum flooring laid, and a closet made. By this time, a recently widowed Charles Powers was running the family farm. His parents, Lafontaine and Mary Ann, had purchased the Homestead from the Chellews in 1902. Now, Charles was raising his own family in the home.
With each new family and each generation within, the bedrooms were redecorated with a fresh layer of wallpaper. The patterns and colours reflected the popular fashions of the time as well as personal style, but also tangibly marked a new era of the house. Layer upon layer, a new statement pasted onto the walls - almost as if the family members who occupied these bedrooms were declaring “This space is now mine.”
Without photographs, it is impossible for us to know the furnishings and trinkets that decorated these personal spaces. However, with so many layers of wallpaper left on the walls, we can seek to study the design trends that inspired family members’ decor choices. This can help add dimension to people that we’ve really only gotten to know through the written record - mostly census and land records - as well as some photographs. Analyzing wallpaper design can bring acuity into how the families of The Brown Homestead saw themselves at the intersections of class, rural society, consumer culture and popular culture through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In order to gain a fulsome understanding of these nuances, each layer of wallpaper must be peeled back and studied - layer by layer.
Peeling Back History: Wallpaper Removal & Conservation
Our slow restoration process of the John Brown House Ballroom began in 2022, when then Willowbank student Mackenzie Campbell, now our Project Manager, undertook the incredibly painstaking process of removing and documenting the layers of wallpaper. The following process was completed concurrently.
Documenting Each Layer
Mackenzie stands in the John Brown House Ballroom, before the partition walls were removed, making notes on the wallpaper layers visible to the eye. The Brown Homestead Collection, 2022.
Prior to removal, each visible layer was carefully documented in the order it was applied. Mackenzie took photographs, recorded color samples, and made detailed notes on the patterns, materials, and finishes. This ensured a thorough record of the unique styles of each layer. This process continued as layers were removed and others uncovered.
Preparing for Layer Removal
Before beginning the removal process, Mackenzie carefully assessed the wallpaper layers to determine the best approach for excising. Each layer of wallpaper held its own history and fragility, so small areas were tested first to gauge how much moisture could be applied without risking damage. This was crucial, as some of the oldest layers were brittle, while others were more resilient.
Initially, steam worked well, but became less effective after the first few layers. The older, brittle brown papers seemed to get too gummy with the added moisture.
Careful Layer-by-Layer Stripping
Using a small crowbar and wallpaper scraper, removal began with the topmost layer and worked down through each layer. This process required patience and delicate handling in order to avoid tearing or fragment loss.
As more layers were peeled back, vibrant colours were revealed. In one instance, wallpaper that had been shielded from sunlight and daily wear actually informed us of the true colour of a wallpaper pattern we had found elsewhere.
Some wallpapers were extremely thin or fragile, with adhesive too strong for safe removal. This was particularly true for the 1860s partition wall dividing the Ballroom. For this reason, we decided to extricate the wall entirely and store away to preserve these especially delicate layers.
In other areas, the adhesives varied in strength. Sometimes, when one layer was lifted, other layers were often brought with it. In these cases, the layers were kept adhered together to avoid further damage. These were preserved intact for artifact storage.
Preservation and Storage
We are currently in the process of photographing and scanning each wallpaper layer. Following documentation, the pieces will be safely stored following museum standards. This will help ensure that the colours and materials remain stable for future study.
The Bigger Picture: Researching & Interpreting Styles
Patterns designed by Christopher Dresser, as shown in a 1873 logbook by the block printers Jeffrey & Co. Cited in Schoeser, The Art of Wallpaper, 30.
Thanks to Mackenzie’s meticulous documentation, The Brown Homestead’s research team - well, I - undertook the next big phase of the Ballroom wallpaper project: studying interior decor trends and the evolution of wallpaper styles through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in order to accurately date the wallpaper layers uncovered in the room and identify design inspiration.
We’ll admit that researching wallpaper styles was a much larger endeavour than anticipated. It turns out that the emergence of mechanized cylinder printing in 1839, and soon after surface printing, made wallpaper production quite prolific in early Upper Canadian history [1]. By the time the Chellews moved into The Brown Homestead in 1858, wallpaper was being mass produced by British manufacturers and imported in high quantities here in British North America. With access to a large urban centre like St. Catharines, even rural families like the Chellews would have been able to choose from many different styles in the logbooks of distributors when decorating their home.
Similar to the floorcloth, wallpaper enjoyed popularity as an accessible, essential component of interior decoration thanks to the rise of mass consumer culture and industrialization during the Victorian-era. A combination of improved manufacturing processes, increased expendable income of the middle class, and the proliferation of periodicals and newspapers featuring the newest fashion trends, helped to ensure wallpaper was pasted in the homes of those with a sense for style and a concern for public appearance. The new middle class sought to decorate their homes to reflect their aspirations - during this period, people were judged more for their sensibilities than their morality [2].
Industrialization enabled the masses to decorate their homes with things that looked novel and stylish and expensive. Before the invention of machine rolls to print patterns more efficiently and in larger quantities, wallpaper patterns were printed by hand using wooden-blocks. Throughout eighteenth century and early nineteenth century Europe and North America, block-printed wallpapers had the air of luxury. The affluent commissioned dramatic ornamental designs and even whole panoramic murals on their wallpaper [3]. The craftsmanship of block printing was considered an artform to be marvelled.
Joseph Dufour, printer, and Jean-Gabriel Charvet, designer, Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique (Native Peoples of the Pacific Ocean), ca. 1804–1806. Block-printed watercolour on paper. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
And in some ways, the perceived loss of this craftsmanship due to the rise of mass production in the 1840s, shaped wallpaper design through the rest of the nineteenth century. Machine-powered metal cylinders and presses, where patterns could be engraved onto the machine surfaces and printed continuously, enabled the production of wider varieties of designs in larger quantities, and at an affordable cost. However, some designers lamented that mass-production stripped away quality and artistry. And in response, interior decor movements of the latter-half of the 1800s emphasized the opposite of the monotony that industrialization symbolized - naturalistic designs, detail-focused patterns, and bold colours.
The evolution of the design movements that came to define the decades of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century can be traced, ever so subtly, on the walls of the John Brown House.
Early Layers: 1860s Block-Printed Floral
One of the earliest wallpaper layers we have in the Ballroom was - unintentionally - preserved thanks to the installation of a wall-mounted coat rack sometime in the late 1800s. When the rack was removed in early 2023 to prepare the room for restoration, a block-printed floral wallpaper dated to the 1860s was uncovered. This is our most intact block-printed wallpaper uncovered.
The distinct shades of greens, purples and yellows, as well as the intricate floral details, suggest that this pattern was printed using engraved wooden blocks. Each colour shade would have had its own block. The Brown Homestead Collection.
The curved tendrils, sensual forms, and deep red accents on this floral pattern suggest inspiration from the Aesthetic Movement, a naturalistic style that arose to counter industrialized design around the same time the Chellews purchased the John Brown House from the Brown family in 1858 [4]. It would make sense that the Chellews would have redecorated the house when they moved in, and around the same time they divided the Ballroom into two bedrooms. This wallpaper choice alluded to the Chellew’s fashionable sensibilities.
Later, a frieze was added. This was another common practice of the Aesthetic Movement, reorganizing wall space into three parts - dado, filling, and frieze - to create a more intimate aesthetic [5]. The patterns would often compliment each other, as they did here. Perhaps the choice to add a frieze to the bedroom wall was made by Joseph Chellew Jr. when he acquired the home from his father in 1892. This would have been a simple, inexpensive way to update and personalize the style of a room at the time.
Floral Frenzy
Patterns featuring hawthorn blossoms gained popularity in the 1870s and 1880s thanks to the influences of Japanese art. As is the tendency, this trend continued on the ebb and flow of fashionability, becoming popular again in the 1940s as dated here. The Brown Homestead Collection.
A preference for florals continued in the two bedrooms of this section of the house for many decades. Family members redecorated with fresh new floral patterns several times over the years. Though the colours and patterns did vary, they remained illustrative of the whimsical and naturalistic style so quintessential to aestheticism, which, at its core, emphasized natural beauty in every area of life.
Yet there can be no discussion of late nineteenth century wallpaper patterns and the Aesthetic Movement without reference to the British designer William Morris and Morris & Co. wallpaper. Establishing his first workshop in 1861, Morris strongly believed that the home should be decorated holistically - where ornamental style met function in each room, and simple furnishings, luxuriant organic patterns, and bold colours could be combined to complement one another [6]. Morris believed that the arts were interconnected, and so should be the decoration of a home - a truly skilled craftsman could produce furniture, textiles, tapestries, stained glass, poetry, as well as wallpaper [7]. Though he died in 1896. Morris & Co. continued to produce wallpapers that shaped the industry. In fact, you can still buy their patterns today.
Morris’ influence is found in wallpaper patterns that take a close eye to floral and foliate forms, meandering stems, and vibrant yet harmonious colour palettes. Many of the patterns found on the walls of the John Brown House Ballroom emulate this definitive style.
The two images to the left are wallpaper patterns from a Morris & Co. Sample Book, c. before 1917(Brooklyn Museum). To the right, are two patterns found in the Ballroom (The Brown Homestead Collection). Swirling floral motifs in soft blues, yellows, greens, pinks and mauves on pale grounds were popularized by Morris and became a feature of the Art Nouveau style between the 1890s and 1930.
Grey and Gloomy
When Lafontaine and Mary Ann Powers purchased the Homestead in 1902, it seems they too preferred floral wallpaper decor in these two bedrooms. Even after their youngest son Charles took over the family farm in the early 1930s with his wife Ada, they continued to decorate with floral patterns.
But, the walls witnessed a dramatic change after Ada died around 1948. Subsequent layers of wallpaper adopted more modern, minimalist styles of the 1950s, which were inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s neutral geometric designs and the simplicity and functionality of the Bauhaus movement [9]. Following his wife’s death, Charles chose to decorate with muted greys and whites, with some metallic finishes. Perhaps this choice was reflective of his mourning as a widower - the whimsical florals too much of a reminder of his wife. After all, recent oral history interviews have confirmed that the large room where these layers were found was Charles’ bedroom.
To the left, the smokey colours, curved lines, and large floral pattern suggest a possible Art Deco inspiration, dating this wallpaper to about the 1920s-30s. To the centre and right, notice the drastic change in wallpaper styles applied later on. These neutral colours, metallic accents, and minimalist patterns suggest more modernist inspirations from the 1950s. This change in decor style may also have reflected more masculine tastes of the era. All three layers were found in the same room, one on top of the other. The Brown Homestead Collection.
Augmented Interiors: Immersing in the Personal
This journal article only scratches the surface of what we can learn from the wallpaper of the John Brown House Ballroom. But, even from what I’ve gleaned already, it is clear that wallpaper can offer a rare glimpse into the lives of the people that we can no longer get to know. Wallpaper decorates intimate family spaces. Its patterns and colours shape the feeling of a room and how people are to interact in it, but also express the personal character, style and influences of the person who chose it. A choice in wallpaper can at once be a curated expression of fashionability - but also a show of vulnerability, offering a glimpse into something more personal.
To more deeply connect our visitors to the vibrant stories that historic wallpaper can invite us into, we have partnered with Brock University Department of Digital Humanities on the Augmented Interiors Project. During the 2024/2025 school year, we are working with Brock students to develop an augmented reality experience that uses 3D modelling software to overlay the wallpaper we’ve uncovered back onto the current walls of the John Brown House Ballroom. This kind of application would enable visitors to utilize technology to immerse themselves in how this space would have looked and felt like for those living here, and to offer a more personal understanding of these families as people who cared - even somewhat - about seemingly frivolous things like decor and style and making a house feel like a home.
Stay tuned for Part II of the A Layered Approach series revealing the project!
Sara Nixon is a public historian and Community Engagement Manager at The Brown Homestead.
Footnotes
[1] Mary Schoeser, The Art of Wallpaper: Morris & Co. in Context, (Suffolk, UK: ACC Art Books, 2022): 4.
[2]J. Bahham et al, Victorian Interior Style (London: Studio Editions, 1995): 11.
[3] Carolle Thibault-Pomerantz, Wallpaper: A History of Style and Trends (Paris: Flammarion, 2009): 85.
[4] Thibault-Pomerantz, 153 & 158.
[5] Banham, 127.
[6] Banham, 81 -94
[7] Thibault-Pomerant, 154.
[8] Banham, 193.
[9] Thibault-Pomeran, 196-7.