William Jones was a prosperous tannery operator in Thurmont, Maryland in the 1800's. To show his prosperity, he built a six-room stone house on Main Street. That was not enough for him, though. To give his new home a touch of elegance and class, he ordered new panoramic wallpaper from the French company of Jean Zuber, according to the Thurmont Historical Society.
Where the Wallpaper Came From
Gertrude Stoner, the owner of the William Jones house in the 20th Century, wrote to Gregory and Brown Co., an interior decorating firm, in 1929 trying to find out the history of the unusual wallpaper hanging in her house. On March 26, 1925, J.C. Waterman replied saying the print was called “Scenic America” and manufactured by a French manufacturer J. Zuber in Rixheim, Alsace. The scenes were taken from a set of Currier and Ives prints. The panoramic scenes showed a general view of New York City and its bay seen from atop Weehawken, the fortifications and parade ground at West Point, Niagara Falls covered in mist, Natural Bridge in Virginia and a view of Boston and its harbor.
Manufacturing Wallpaper
In 1834 when the wallpaper was manufactured, it would have taken about a year to produce a complete set, which consisted of 32 strips. Each strip was 18.5 inches wide and 11.5 feet long.
Producing a new design of wallpaper was a major investment for the company, according to the Zuber web site. Besides research and design time, production time was extensive. It could take the efforts of up to 50 men applying 223 colors to 1,674 wood blocks to produce the wallpaper. The wood blocks were carved to leave various portions of the print raised. The paint was applied to the raised portions and then pressed against the fine linen rag paper so that only the raised portions left paint on the paper. Design runs for each design was limited to about 50 sets.
Jean Zuber’s Company
“It was reported that Zuber’s wallpapers were so renowned that King Louis Philippe honored him with the Legion of Honor in 1834, the year that ‘Scenic America’ was printed,” reported The Frederick Post (October 18, 1961).
The wallpaper was an extravagant cost at the time of $10.
Journeying to the White House
It journeyed from France to Thurmont in tin foil tubes of protect it from the moisture of an ocean crossing.
The wallpaper hung on the walls of the Jones’ house until 1961 when the house was demolished for a grocery store. Just before the demolition, the wallpaper was salvaged and sold to the White House where is now hangs on the walls of the Diplomatic Reception Room, according to the Thurmont Historical Society.
To view more of the historic wallpaper in the White House, visit the White House Historical Association.
