Wall Papers

Wall Papera. Wall papers were little used in Europe before the eighteenth centnry, thoiig] they had been long before that appliec to house decoration by the Chinese Those that were first manufactured in the west were adaptations of design f roru Italian brocades, and at first they were used in an unobjectionable manner, just as hangings of the costlier material were employed- namely, to fill spaces between obvioiis structural lines - and so applied no objection could be made to their use. On the contrary, the invention brought it within the means of almost every honseholder to fill blank wall spaces with agreeable tracery and harmonions color. The cornice, frieze and dado remained intact. Coigns were protected with molding or piaster work, and the inmate might feel that he was living in a built room and not in a bandbox. But gradnally the wall features disappeared, paper crept over everything except window and door openings, even into the very angles of the walls, and it is nothing uncommon now on entering a saloon of considerable pretensión and proportions to find the walls closely covered with paper from floor to ceiling, save a narrow skirting board to protect the piaster from the housemaid's brooin and a cornice reduced toa meager mg.-