Lear’s Folly Wallpaper - A

Unlike other French wallpapers of this period, ones which receive accolades for the many colors printed with steady handed precision, this pattern – found in New Hampshire – was destined for a different market. The paints were thin. The printing registration was somewhat casual. Even the paper stock had been repurposed – the wallpaper was printed on the unbound pages of a book. Nevertheless, these production qualities, coupled with the playful pattern elements result in an entertaining diversion for a secondary room. A room such as a bedchamber in the Portsmouth home of Tobias Lear where fragments of this were discovered.