Reading the cards: discovering the British eighteenth-century wallpaper trade

Taylor, Clare (2008). Reading the cards: discovering the British eighteenth-century wallpaper trade. The Wallpaper History Review pp. 29–32.

Abstract

This article examines one source for the study of paper hangings, trade cards. It concentrates on little known examples drawn from archival study, including for the first time those of regional tradesmen, and offers insights of value beyond wallpaper studies alone of how the material was aligned by reference to other designed goods, notably textiles. Drawing on recent approaches to the study of French and English cards, it analyses their form, language and imagery to argue that they are a key sources to identify what qualities were deemed commercially viable and appealing to consumers in purchasing this new material.

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