Early American Wallpaper Manufacturers
The years following the Revolution were a fertile period of enterprise for Americans who began to manufacture goods formerly produced and supplied by England. By the late 1780s, a number of paper stainers had established workshops in major cities along the Atlantic coast and began to publically advertise their merchandise.
To encourage the production of domestic wallpapers, state and federal officials passed legislation which strengthened the fledgling American wallpaper industry allowing it to secure a foothold in an increasingly competitive marketplace. In 1786, State officials of Massachusetts banned the importation of wallpaper, and in 1789 federal legislators enacted the first American tariff law which imposed a duty of seven and a half percent on imported wallpaper. This rate of duty increased steadily and by 1804 was raised to seventeen and a half percent.
Increased competition led to price cuts in the 1790s, thereby making domestic wallpaper an affordable decorating option for a growing number of prosperous middle-class households. Manufacturers often advertised hundreds of available patterns. Early American Wallpaper designs are often based on French or English patterns. However, as the industry grew, American paper stainers began to create original though simple designs. Three types stand out as indicative of the larger stylistic trends of domestic wallpaper manufacture - commemorative designs, geometric patterns, and patterns with vines.
Ebenezer Clough (1767-1848) established his paper staining business in Boston in 1795. An advertisement dated the same year lists large figure and pillar and arch patterns among his available stock of papers. Clough is known for the commemorative paper of George Washington he produced less than one year after Washington’s death in 1799. Based on a variation of the pillar and arch design, "Washington’s Monument" is printed in gray, white and black on a blue ground. The pattern includes classical motifs and allegorical figures of Justice and Liberty weeping over the loss of the national hero. This pattern has been found throughout New England and is still on the walls of the entry of Sycamore Hall, Enfield, Connecticut.
By 1811, Moses Grant, Jr., son of a successful Boston wallpaper manufacturer, began to advertise custom-made designs. A house at 21 Unity Street in Boston shows the variety of geometric patterns produced by both Grant and his father. Built in 1711 as a single family dwelling, the house was converted into multi-family residence about 1807. Moses Grant was the agent for the rental property and one can assume he supplied the wallpaper used to decorate the rooms and entry of the house.
Samples removed from the house in 1964 certainly represent inexpensive types of paper produced by the Grants’ workshops. The second layer of wallpaper, hung in the stair hall, features simple repetitive geometric elements printed with two blocks on a cinnamon ground, a color frequently used on wallpapers produced by Moses Grant, Jr.
To meet the demand for wallpaper, Boston manufacturers advertised their products outside of the city. In this arena, they competed with other American wallpaper manufacturers. Zechariah Mills, (1770-1851) a Hartford, Connecticut wallpaper manufacturer and dealer, sold his own papers and those he imported from Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York and Boston. Mills is credited with being the first New England wallpaper manufacturer to routinely stamp and number his papers to protect his own designs.
One of the marked Mills paper in Historic New England’s collection is a neat stripe design composed of vertical rows of wheat printed in varnish green alternating with wide stripes of flowered vines. Though the pattern appears to be a simple two color design, it is in fact fairly complex. A fine white vine and pinstripe design, now faded, originally formed an all-over background pattern on the slate blue ground color. Hung around 1800, the paper remained on the walls of the Daniel Hough House in Lebanon, New Hampshire, until 1900 when it was covered over with a plain oatmeal paper.
