The rise of Victorian wallpapers 

Wallpaper has a long history in Britain and period wallpaper's popularity within the upper classes was, in part, due to the tradition from medieval times of hanging tapestries in rooms for warmth and to brighten the mood. 
Early period wallpapers were hand-designed and hand-printed. Later, high quality wallpapers were made with manually operated presses and this made them too expensive for most people to afford. However, with the coming of the industrial revolution, the mass production of wallpapers made them available to the working classes for the first time.

Victorian wallpapers

Just as they had done in previous eras, Victorian wallpapers were used to brighten up the look of a room and to provide a backdrop onto which other design touches could be added. By this period, wallpapers were pasted to the walls, rather than hung as they had in earlier times.
The advent of mass production meant that these first wallpapers for the masses were printed on a low quality paper. The 'cheap and cheerful' paper and its availability to those of lower class was unpopular with the upper classes, who eventually rejected wallpaper as 'gaudy.' Many designers began to move away from wallpaper design by the end of the Victorian era.
Even so, high quality wallpapers and designer wallpapers were made during the Victorian era, including wallpapers made by the notable designer William Morris of the  Arts and Crafts Movement.

British and continental wallpaper designs

Industrialisation brought with it many production advances that, in period wallpapers, led to the development of embossed wallpaper designs, 'damp-proof' wallpapers for kitchens, and innovative printing techniques that copied the more elaborate and expensive design looks of earlier textile wall hangings.
The simple repeating designs of stripes, flowers, and branches were a popular motif for Victorian wallpapers, as they are even today.
Some French designers during the Victorian period took to producing high quality wallpaper 'panoramiques' that often depicted landscapes and vistas. These panoramiques featured a non-repeating design and became popular in the British market.

A modern revival

Wallpapers have come and gone in fashion over the decades, and in the last 10 years many Victorian wallpaper designs, and wallpapers in general, have seen a revival.
After the low-cost faux painting trend through the late 1980s and 1990s and the dramatic room colours of the early 2000s, high quality wallpapers have started finding their way back into the lounges and kitchens of homes around the UK.
Owners of period homes, especially 19th and 20th century Victorian era homes, have rediscovered the art and beauty of period wallpaper designs. Adding these period wallpapers goes a long way to restoring the original design looks of the home, but with all the benefits of modern wallpaper technology.
Modern high quality wallpapers are considerably more durable than their earlier counterparts, and they give the home-owner more choice in colour, pattern and theme.
Wallpapers for the Victorian home represent the affordable luxury of the period, and a design aesthetic brought into the modern day.

You can now purchase our exclusive range of high quality period wallppaers, called Revival, on our online shop.