History of Wallpaper-York Wallpaper is about the past and the present. And, what a present it is. Because of changes in the manufacture process, new techniques allow for special effects.
Per Wikipedia, ‘the first machines for printing wallpaper were made in the late 18th century and enhanced in the 19th century. In the 1800s steam power was used in the printing process thus allowing papers to print faster and cheaper than ever before’.
Fast forward to now. York Wallcovering in York, PA is the oldest and largest wallcovering producer in the USA. Founded in 1895, York currently occupies 400,000 square feet of space and has 260 employees. York creates residential and commercial wallcoverings, murals and wall decals.
Historic Printing Methods
Some of York’s early printing methods used wood drums with designs made in brass with felt as a filler. These pictures say it all:
And, here are some old gears and a picture of an old style storage cart:
The old style wallpaper storage cart below makes for a great wood storage cart today.
Here’s a photo of the same style wallpaper storage cart holding wood. Love it
Today, York stores wallpaper on shelves such as these:
This blog–History of Wallpaper-York Wallpaper is the first of a blog series on wallpaper–past and present. The next blog in this series will show exciting new changes in wallpaper manufacture and design. For now check out some of York’s current patterns here or view one of our current stock York wallpaper patterns: https://www.fortheloveofwallpaper.com/product/ronald-redding-striped-wallpaper-green
