Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1885-06-25
WALL DECORATIONS.
Decorations Which Cost More Than the
Honses-High Art at a Discount.

th0 dCCOtAtiO VI iiOUSCS. III
fact, the interior decoration of mod
ern house sometimes exceeds in cost
the building and material of the house
itself.
A gentleman who has one of the finest
houses in Jersey City went to first
class interior decoration house in the
city short time ago. His house was
a new one, and he desired to have the
walls and ceilings treated in the latest
styles. He was shown into hand
somely furnished room, and requested
to seat himself on an embroidered,
plush-upholstered chair made of an
tique or bog-oak, and valued at 5000.
After few questions concerning the
house, the size of the rooms, the light,
and SO on, the gentlemanly clerk said
he would show him few styles of par
lor decorations, carefully adjusting a
rack meantime, in order that the right
amount of light should fall on it. A
delicate paper, in which the pattern.
wrought in harmonious colors, stood
on background family threaded with
gilt was placed on the rack. Another
roll of the same pattern was placed be-
side it,in order 10 give larger surface.
A friczc TO match and deep gilt mold
ing between the frieze and paper, to
break the monotony. completed the
wall decoration. Then came colored
wood molding above the frieze, to show
i'll what color the base of the cornice
was to be painted.
THE other parts of the cornice will
have to be treated differently, so as to
tone with the ceiling decorations,
said the clerk. Now | will show you
some styles of frcscoed ceilings to go
with this side-wall decoration
Several cards, with elaborate and
beautiful paintings of ceilings, were
now shown.
That is very pretty one, said the
customer, selecting one.
Yes, it will harmonic well with the
paper, also.
1T seems to me the whole thing is
perfect, " said the Jerseyman, delight
ed at his success in finding what he
wanted, and certain that his parlors
would be the envy of his friends.
well. | am glad you like it." re-
sponded the clerk. .'As have now an
idea of your taste l can easily fix the
other rooms. Perhaps, however. be-
fore we go any further, you had better
say how much you are willing to spend
on the house. When | know that, /
Will go over and see your house and
make measurements, and will then
$, ow you the styles for each room that
we can give you at your price"
Il have two paper-hangers over in
Jersey City whom had thought of let
ting do the work." began the gentle
man, doubtingly.
''Oh, no; that won't do replied the
clerk. ut requires an artist to hang
that paper so that it won't show the
seams. and we would have to fresco the
ceiling anyhow. All the work will be
figured in with the cost of the job. 1t
will only cost you the price of the board
for the workmen extra. That viii be
about So per day for each one.''
The Jerseyman's face fell little.
But he felt that he was in for it. and
might as we'll see it through. He had
been willing 10 pay 81, 900 for the sake
of eclipsing his neighbors. He would
double | 1t amount now.
We'll, he said TO the clerk, who
was carelesSly ;wirling a diamond ring
on his finger, Il am willing to be lib
eral in this matter. See what YOU can
do for 5000
The clerk looked dumbfounded. For
a moment he seemed paralyzcd; then
going TO the rack, he threw the mold
ings on the floor, and, taking out roll
of paper, he said coldly:
al guess you have not got very
good idea of the cost of decoration.
That ceiling you looked at would cost
you $3.50 alone. This paperis Il hand
made French print. and is worth SIP
roll. IL would take thirty rolls to do
the ordinary-sizcd parlors. 1t would
take about two hundred feet of this
molding at IS cents foot. Without
charging for anything else. your par
Tors would cost you $4,000 alone. You
had better think it over and call
again. p"
In former days the cost OF decorating
a parlor was greater than that of any
other room, and often amounted to as
much as all the other rooms together.
But the modern dining-room is finished
in the most expensive of hard woods,
and such decoration rs is used is of the
most costly kind. The halls of fine
house are decorated with marvellous
hand painted Lincrusta Walton. or
some kind of bronzed plaster work.
which is even more expensive. Either
or hall would cost as much
as the parlor.
The foremost interior decoration
firms in this city vic with each other in
obtaining new and elegant effects.
They employ artists of all kinds at
enormous salaries to assist them in this.
With several of these firms, where the
employees have shown themselves indis-
pensable to tho success of the business,
they have been given partnership in
consequence. Such firms receive as
high as $50, 900 for decorating single
house. A fair price is $40, 900. and they
seldom 60 below $1,000.
But while tn Sc firms receive small
fortunes for single jobs, the intelligent
buyer of wall paper often gets very
pretty effect for small price. The
sale of wall papers and of interior dec
orations has come to be two distinct
branches of business, and it is in the
stores of wallpaper dealers and manu-
facturers that bargains are generally
to be obtained. An odd lot of paper
and small quantity of friezc are often
sold for triillng sums. Occasionally
the same bargains may be had in fine
decoration store. AS an instance of
this, salesman of one of the best
known houses in the city showed to a
reporter twenty rolls of paper he had
sold that day.
This paper" no said, "cost US 81 so
per roll. We sold some of it to ex-Sec-
rotary of State Frelnghuysen for his
private office in Washington q little
over year ago. 1t cost him 81 roll.
A gentleman came in to-day who want
ed twenty rolls. and as we had just that
amount of this on hand we sold him
the remnant for SO. 1t is a French
embossed bronze, and very fine office
paper.
In the reading-room of one of the
most beautifully decorated hotels in the
country there is an English paper on
the walls which probably cost 80 per
roll. A short time ago, while in a
country town in Connecticut, re-
porter noticed the same kind of paper
pasted on the walls of small store.
.'Hello!' he said to the proprietor,
''where did you get this?"
"Oh, / got stuck badly on it some
time ago. l bought about forty rolls
of it from some teller or other for eight
cents roll. couldn't sell it, so |
used part of it for this wall and some |
put under my carpets. I've got ten
rolls left, which you can have for so
cents il We want il -