The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-06-16
40 YEARS OF WALL PAPER,
During Which Time the Price Has Come
Down 100 Per Cent.

S. S Conner OF Westheld, Mass, is said
TO have been in the wall paper business
longer than any other man in this country
II was forty years ago that Mr. Conner
made his first venture.
Machinery such as is now used was Of
course unknown. and all the wall papers
were printed by hand.
A modern wall paper manufacturer
boasts that in two hours time he can con-
vert a tree into pulp, manufacture it into
wall paper and have it on the wall.
But the use Of the wood pulp without
other stock 20 strengthen the paper makes
il 30 brittle tina It is hard to handle and
has little wearing quality.
Early wall papers were intended by the
manufacturers to last more than q year.
! Mr.. Conner has sold paper for $3.50 and s.
"A roll. OF course, says the Springfield
Union this was Of the finest quality and
design, which required considerable time
in the process of manufacture.
The most difficult and ediou part Of the
work was putting on the designs. The
paper came in q big roll drawn over some
fat surface and the block on which had
been cut the design was dipped in the color
and it was then pressed upon the paper.
This operation was repeated with q num-
Der OF blocks until all the colors required
in the design were put on. The paper
was moved along a short space and the
process repeated.
so we'll was this paper made that it would
last n lifetime, and the housewife never
dreamed OF having il pulled of every spring
or fall TO he replaced with new. as Is the
custom nowadays. when paper can be bought
for three or four cents a roll.
In the old fashioned days the wall paper
came in rolls 20 inches wide instead OF
10 tnaha1 n nf nTn2hnt HnTnnTE MARA
not made to match the designs in the wall
paper 80 the customer selected the dec
GRAFTON he wanted for his wall and then
took the border that looked best with 1t,
Borders with gilt background were in
rated with dark red focking.
Flocking was produced by covering
the gilt paper with q muoilaginous SUBJ
stanoe and then sitting through the deeign
velvet trimmings. After the velvet had
dried on, the trimming that did not adhere
10 the glue we're brushed of.
Sometimes these borders were fat gilt
papers, sometimes the focking was put
on solid. Solid focking was used for
wall decoration up 10 10 years ago when
the modern wall papers began TO come
into the market.
English wall paper came in rolls OF IS
yards, but after the industry secured a
foothold in this country the length OF a
roll was reduced TO io yards and the cutting
toNh mas bEVli bphik III. v lllCV Until
some rolls do not contain more than is
yards.
Early manufacturers paid high
for color mixers ard block cutters. men
who cut the designs in wood blocks, and
the result was the manufacture of fast
colors. II Ia said hat one firm In New |
York paid its color mixer 90 900 q year
and he had as an assistant hts con, who
drew tl5 900 q year salary, and they only
worked eight months In q year at that.
Designers and cutters received g q day.
Color mixers Boon discovered that arsenic |
produced the most beautiful green for |
printing wall papers and its use quickly
became general. IL was not long before
Its poisonous effects were discovered,
the ~psperhaugers being the first 70 suffer
from II.
Physicians have reported many cases
OF arsenical poisoning from wall paper
and only q few months ago the neNspapen
printed q story sbout an Illinois farmer ,
who post three wives In thrss ytsfs 81