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Object Timeline
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Sidewall (France)
This is a Sidewall. It is dated 1840–70 and we acquired it in 1972. Its medium is block printed on satin ground, continuous paper. It is a part of the Wallcoverings department.
French wallpaper manufacturers were the masters of block-printing realistic-rendered floral and architectural designs. To achieve the high degree of realism seen in this wallpaper, each of the different elements required about six different shades to create a sense of roundness, with each color necessitating a separate woodblock. This design required about twenty blocks to print.
This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled Wallpaper in Bloom.
					
			This object was 
					
			
				donated by
			
			Josephine Howell.
					
									It is credited Gift of Josephine Howell.
						
- Sidewall (France)
 - block printed on handmade paper.
 - Gift of Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt.
 - 1931-45-10
 
Its dimensions are
87 x 49.5 cm (34 1/4 x 19 1/2 in.) b) 87 x 49.5 cm c) 276 x 49.5 cm d) 557 x 49.5 cm
Cite this object as
Sidewall (France); block printed on satin ground, continuous paper; 87 x 49.5 cm (34 1/4 x 19 1/2 in.) b) 87 x 49.5 cm c) 276 x 49.5 cm d) 557 x 49.5 cm; Gift of Josephine Howell; 1972-42-202-a/d