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Victorian Homes & Buildings

Original wallpaper restoration advice needed.

Started by anteekdoc · November 21, 2009 · 2 posts · 8 images

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Victorian Homes & Buildings thread on victorianforum.com · started November 21, 2009 by anteekdoc · 2 posts, 8 image attachments · discussion in 2009.

Hi..I have been in an 8 year, on again, off again project to restore the wallpaper in my home. There are two main patterns as seen. The wallpaper is early but I am not sure it is original to the 1870 home. The paper is the early rolled paint paper that was made like a…

anteekdoc #
Hi..I have been in an 8 year, on again, off again project to restore the wallpaper in my home. There are two main patterns as seen. The wallpaper is early but I am not sure it is original to the 1870 home. The paper is the early rolled paint paper that was made like a Japanese woodblock painting using the old wooden wallpaper rollers for each color. I know this is difficult to restore. As far as cleaning is concerned I have been using a gum eraser and it does a good job of getting all the black soot off without wetting the paper, at the cost of being very time consuming.                                                                                            There are some seam separations, old scotch tape repairs, loose pieces unglued from the wall. The pictures try to exemplify this. What is the best way to re-adhere the paper to the wall, remove the old tape, etc...any help would be appreciated. John.
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misslilybart #
I'll see if I can get you some more case-specific info, but in the interim, here is some reading material you might fing helpful/interesting:

The excellent National Parks Service technical publication "Wallpapers in Historic Preservation" is now available in its entirety online, and

The Journal of the American Institute for Conservation issued an entire volume of thier publication devoted to wallpaper, in 1981. The articles "Wallpaper and Its Conservation: An Architectural Conservator's Perspective" and "The In Situ Treatment of the Wallpaper in the Study of the Longfellow National Historic Site" might be valuable to you.

regards~
Cheryl

(Amended b/c my husband - AKA "the guy who actually knows something about historic wallpaper" - said those are the same links he would have given you.)