Old Time Wall Papers: An Account of the Pictorial Papers on Our Forefathers' Walls with a Study of the Historical Development of Wall Paper Making and DecorationSanborn, Kate
History
Old Time Wall Papers: An Account of the Pictorial Papers on Our Forefathers' Walls with a Study of the Historical Development of Wall Paper Making and Decoration
Sanborn, Kate
Interior decoration -- History; Wallpaper
"The most noticeable thing in the room is the paper upon the walls. It
was bought by the governor purposely for this room, and cost one hundred
dollars in gold. It is very thick, almost like strawboard, and is
fancifully illustrated with all sorts of pictures--landscapes, marine
views, court scenes, and other pageants. It will afford one infinite
amusement to study the various figures. On one side is a nautical scene.
An old-fashioned galleon, such a one as Kidd the pirate would have liked
to run afoul of, is being unloaded by a group of negroes. Swarthy
mariners, clad in the Spanish costume of the seventeenth century,--long,
sausage-shaped hose, with breeches pinned up like pudding bags and
fringed at the bottom, boots with wide, voluminous tops, buff coats with
sleeves slashed in front, and broad-brimmed Flemish beaver hats, with
rich hat-bands and plumes of feathers--are watching the unlading, and an
old Turk stands near by, complaisant and serene, smoking his pipe. On
the opposite wall there is a grand old castle, with towers and spires
and battlements. In the foreground is a fountain, and a group of
gallants and ladies are promenading the lawn. One lady, lovely and
coquettish, leans on the arm of a cavalier, and is seemingly engrossed
by his conversation, and yet she slyly holds forth behind her a folded
letter in her fair white hand which is being eagerly grasped by another
gallant--like a scene from the _Decameron_. In the corner a comely
maiden in a trim bodice, succinct petticoat and plaided hose, stands
below a tall tree, and a young lad among the branches is letting fall a
nest of young birds into her extended apron. The expression on the boy's
face in the tree and the spirited protest of the mother bird are very
graphically portrayed.
"The loveliest scene of all is that of a bay sweeping far into the land;
boats and ships are upon the tide; on the shore, rising from the very
water's edge, is a fairy-like, palatial structure, with machicolated
battlements, that reminds one of the enchanted castle of Armida. Under
the castle walls is assembled a gay company. A cavalier, after the
Vandyke style, is playing with might and main upon a guitar, and a
graceful, full-bosomed, lithe-limbed Dulcinea is dancing to the music in
company with a gaily dressed gallant. It is the Spanish fandango.
Another scene is a charming land and water view with no prominent
figures in it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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