Zuber: Two Centuries of Panoramic Wallpaper

By Brian Coleman

Luxurious homes, from the New York to South Carolina to Scotland and France, featuring woodblock printed panoramic wallpapers from the premier French manufacturer Zuber & Cie.
  
Since its founding in 1797, Zuber & Cie wallpapers’ fame has spread far and wide, from King Louis Philippe awarding Jean Zuber the Legion of Honor in 1834 to Jackie Kennedy installing Zuber’s “Vues de l'Amérique du Nord” in the White House. According to France Today, the company still uses the same antique woodblocks, the same paint formulas, and the same time-honored processes to create its stunning wallpapers as it did in Jean Zuber’s time. Gorgeous displays of friezes, borders, ceiling roses, and architectural trompe l’oeil have been photographed for this book in homes in the U.S., France, and the U.K.
 
Brian D. Coleman continually brings to life the biggest names in design, such as Farrow & Ball, Scalamandré, Fortuny, the Wiseman Group, Barry Dixon, and Leta Austin Foster. He lives in Seattle and NYC.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith
• Release date: Jan 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781423649090

Brian Coleman

Brian D. Coleman, MD, divides his time between Seattle and New York. His articles have appeared in magazines ranging from Old House Journal, where he is the West Coast editor; to Period Living in the U.K. Brian is the author of seven books on the decorative arts, including the recent titles Farrow & Ball and Cottages.

Book preview

zuber

two hundred years of panoramic wallpaper

brian d. coleman

principal photographer john neitzel

Foreword

Introduction

The Grand Entry

Private Retreats

Sumptuous Salons

Elegant Dining Rooms

How It Happens

The Rixheim Factory

Acknowledgments

Photograph © 2019 Zuber & Cie.

Foreword

by Pat Altschul

I’ve always been fascinated by Zuber wallpaper, starting as a child when I grew up in Richmond with the Views of America in the dining room. At the time, I didn’t know what I was looking at but was intrigued by the ladies in their beautiful long dresses and hats along with the carriages and horses. I also remember that the Natural Bridge was depicted because I had visited it on the way to the Homestead in Virginia.

It wasn’t until I was lucky enough to go to the White House in the ’70s and saw the complete series of the Views of America in the Diplomatic Reception Room that I learned the name and the maker of the wallpaper as well as its history.

When I moved into the house in Oyster Bay New York, I was studying genealogy and was very interested in the Revolutionary War and the part that my ancestors played in it. So when I went to Zuber et Cie in New York City and looked at all the various scenic wallpapers, I fell in love with the American War of Independence. General Washington was encamped at the home of my ancestor, and it was there that the planning was done for the defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown. So I feel a personal sense of history and involvement every time I look at the wallpaper.

It was at this time that I met John Nalewaja and Jim Francis, who installed the paper. They explained the placement and hanging of scenic wallpaper is much more complicated than other kinds of wallpaper. The walls have to be prepared in a certain way with a specific material, and then there is a special backing that allows the wallpaper to be removed at a later date (which is exactly what I did when I moved to Charleston).

After the hanging was complete, a trompe l’oeil artist, Prudence Carter, was brought in to do the final in painting and retouches. Being the gifted artist she is, she painted a small image of our then twenty-year-old cat Sally in one corner. Many years later, when I moved to Charleston, the same team put up the same wallpaper, which I had brought with me. Prudence then added the image of my pug dog Lily standing on a hill. Both of these beloved pets are now gone, but it’s very comforting to see their images preserved on the wallpaper.

I feel very privileged to live with this artistic form of creativity, skill, and imagination. Zuber et Cie is the ultimate in decorative art.

Photograph © 2019 Fanny Latour-Lambert.

Introduction

Foreign travel was difficult during the late eighteenth century, and for those who didn’t wish to venture too far from home, dioramic or panoramic spectacles were a popular substitute. For a small fee, viewers could sit in the center of a room while a series of panoramas painted on screens were rolled in a circle around them, providing 360-degree views of exotic lands they might otherwise never see. Inspired by the