This lavishly illustrated book is the first devoted to the subject of the manufacture and use of wallpaper in Ireland. Drawing on his extensive experience both as a maker and a researcher of historic wallpapers, David Skinner has compiled a detailed survey of the patterns used to decorate Irish houses from the early eighteenth century until the demise of the Irish ‘paper-staining’ trade at the close of the nineteenth century. Journals, letters, invoices and newspaper advertisements are among the sources explored to chart the history of wallpaper in Ireland, the role of emigrant Irish artisans in developing wallpaper manufacture in France and North America, the tax on wallpaper, and the trade in smuggled wallpaper between Ireland and Victorian England. The book will provide an invaluable guide to researchers, architects and those involved in the study of historic interiors. Many of the rooms illustrated are published here for the first time, and include little-known examples of the sumptuous wallpapers imported from China and France, set alongside the products of native ‘paper-stainers’.
‘A celebration and reclamation of the wonders of wallpaper in Ireland.’ (Robert O’Byrne, Irish Times)
‘David Skinner’s enthusiasm for the subject comes through in every chapter. He has that rare talent which is a complete technical knowledge of the material and a heightened appreciation of the visual beauty of the work. The book is an important reference work and is essential reading for everyone interested in the visual and material culture of Ireland.’ (Paul Caffrey, Irish Arts Review)
