The history of wallpaper
Over the centuries, traditions have not changed, but methods have. A person still longs to make his own home attractive to the eye. Nevertheless, today, wallpaper seems to be the simplest and most affordable way to decorate the house. However, even a few centuries ago, this material was a luxury, and only a wealthy soul could afford it. Let's go back to basics to trace how it all began.
The invention of paper wallpaper can be attributed to the Chinese. They came up with a technique for making this covering material around 200 BC. The Chinese were engaged in the production of wallpaper from rice paper. The method was an art that the Chinese nation mastered back in the 2nd century BC. Thus, we can safely assume that the history of modern wallpaper is more than two thousand years old.
Initially, the Chinese made paper from thread and bark. The nation decorated the walls with such layers. After gluing, images and hieroglyphs were drawn on the surface. The recipe for such a paper was strictly classified. The Chinese did not want to sell it for any price. It was also impossible to lure out the secret of manufacturing by trick.
Only in the seventh century, this confidential recipe became known to the world. This happened when the Chinese began to lose the war and were forced to reveal the secret of papermaking to the Japanese, and then to the Arabs. The Arabs sold the technology to Andalusia, and the first paper mills started operating in Spain.
The British first introduced the original Chinese wallpaper to Europe. Their quality was an order of magnitude higher than those produced due to the technology sold by the Arabs. However, this finishing material remained an expensive pleasure for ordinary people. The thing is that all the wallpapers of those times were handmade, which gave rise to an unaffordable price for the population majority.
The next stage in the evolution of this decorative attribute was the attempts to release wallpaper in the form of rolls we are used to instead of individual sheets of paper. The first to look for a solution to this problem was Jean Zuber, who began to glue sheets into rolls at his factory "Nicolas Dolfus & Cie", but due to numerous failures, he settled on panoramic printing.
Then, in 1799, an attempt to create a printing press for complete rolls was crowned with success. Louis Robert did it. In 1799, he received a patent for a machine for making very long papers. 31 years later, he improved this decorative material, making it relatively inexpensive and accessible to many segments of the community. However, due to this modernization, the designers of panoramic wallpapers went bankrupt.
Modern technology, vinyl, and non-woven wallpapers
The history of modern vinyl and non-woven wallpaper dates back to the 20th century.
The continuation of this finishing material modernization was taken seriously after the First World War. Thus, the B. F. Goodrich Company patented the invention of vinyl, after which its commercial use began in 1933. The US pioneered the use of vinyl in wallpaper production in 1947. It is worth noting that at that stage these wallpapers were almost a rubberized coating, while now they have improved and presented a microporous canvas.
Today, there are also non-woven wallpapers. It worth noting that non-woven wallpaper and non-woven base are different things. Non-woven has 100% the right to be called the type of coating that is used for painting, without patterns and relief. Germany began to produce non-woven or cellulose fiber webs. Now it is a fashionable type of wallpaper for the kitchen, and the non-woven base is the key component of many kinds of covering materials.
Today we cannot imagine our home without decor in the form of the wallpaper we like. There are so many of them that any, even the most sophisticated, taste will be satisfied. It is difficult to overestimate the feeling of comfort and coziness in a room decorated with nice quality wallpaper, and the owner himself can realize his sense of beauty by picking up the necessary for this in any store. Moreover, the type and quality of this material can tell the guests a lot about the personality of the owner himself, about his wealth and taste.
