Hand-painted Chinese paper, imported about 1750 and still in good state of preservation; the property of Mr. Theodore P. Burgess of Dedham, Mass. The subject is perhaps the oldest theme used in wall-paper decoration in China. [Illustration] _PLATE XIII_ _PLATE XIV_ PLATE XIII. The Cultivation of Tea. Paper on another side of room shown in Plate XII. PLATE XIV. The Cultivation of Tea. Third side of same room. The scene continues round the room without repetition. [Illustration] [Illustration] _PLATE XV_ _PLATE XVI_ PLATE XV. Early American Fresco. Painted river scenes on the best chamber walls of the house of Mrs. William Allen at Westwood, Mass. The elm and locust trees and architectural style are plainly American, but the geographical location is uncertain. The colors are very brilliant--red, blue, green, etc. PLATE XVI. Early American Fresco. Another side of same room, showing conventionalized water fall and bend in the river. [Illustration] [Illustration] _PLATE XVII_ _PLATE XVIII_ PLATE XVII. Early American Fresco. Another view of the painted walls at Westwood, Mass. The object depicted is neither a whale nor a torpedo-boat, but an island. PLATE XVIII. Early American Fresco. Painted hall and stairway in an old house in High Street, Salem, Mass., attached to the very old bake-shop of Pease and Price. The frescoes were executed by a Frenchman. Colors are still quite bright, but a good photograph could not be secured in the small and dimly-lighted hall. [Illustration] [Illustration] _PLATE XIX_ _PLATE XX_ PLATE XIX. Early Stencilled Paper. Fragments of very old paper from Nantucket, R. I. PLATE XX. A Peep at the Moon. Another quaint stencilled paper found at Nantucket, R. I. [Illustration] [Illustration: A PEEP AT THE MOON] _PLATE XXI_ PLATE XXI. Pictured Ruins and Decorative Designs. Hall of a homestead at Salem, Massachusetts, old when gas lights were introduced in Salem. The paper was undoubtedly made to fit the stairway and hall. The large picture in the lower hall is repeated at the landing. [Illustration] _PLATE XXII_ PLATE XXII. Hand Colored Paper with Repeated Pattern. Parlor in the home of Mrs. Russell Jarvis at Claremont, New Hampshire. The paper is hand-printed on cream ground in snuff-brown color, and is made up of pieces eighteen inches square, showing three alternating pastoral scenes. In the frieze and dado the prevailing color is dark blue. (p.56) [Illustration] _PLATE XXIII_ _PLATE XXIV_ PLATE XXIII. Scenes from Nature in Repeated Design.