Tumbling Blocks Wallpaper - Sheila Bridges Colorway

While the fragment used to reproduce this geometric pattern is in the Adelphi archives, it would be useful to site Richard Nylander’s book, Wallpaper in New England where he discusses similar patterns in the collection of Historic New England.

“The design’s similarity to late-19th century patchwork is obvious. Less obvious is its relationship to architectural design. A similar configuration, entitled “A Pavement of Parallelopipedons” was published as early as 1729 in Batty Langley’s Sure Builder’s Guide. . . The pattern’s popularity may also derive from the late-eighteenth-century interest in neoclassical mosaic design.”