INTERIORS : History Leaves a Paper Trail That Can Still Be Unfurled

Set designers, restorers of old houses, even decorators who want to re-create the psychedelic walls of a 1960s rec room are among people on the prowl for old wallpaper.

Likewise, there are people who want to sell. But old wallpaper is au courant, so if you have it, you might want to keep it, and if it’s not up to snuff, recondition it or copy it.

“I get calls all the time,” Susan Filter says. “People want to know whether their wallpaper is valuable enough to warrant conserving and what that would entail.”

Most papers have no value as antiques, says Filter, senior conservator and wallpaper specialist at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia.

There are, however, exceptions: hand-blocked French papers, old or new; hand-painted Chinese papers; and any hand-printed papers designed for a particular house. If they are sturdy enough to be removed from the walls, they are likely to have monetary value.

Those who have old paper in this category should call a specialist because the paper should be stabilized as soon as possible.

Whether papers are to be rehung or are still in the original roll, they get brittle with age. Thus they are hard to hang. An experienced paperhanger should be called, and old-fashioned wheat paste should be used.

Shopping for wallpaper when the sample book is history isn’t easy. Look for rolls in odd lots at flea markets and yard sales. Papers of known value generally are at auction or high-end antiques dealers.

“Paint and wallpaper stores that are going out of business sometimes have rolls and rolls in the basement,” says Martin Dinowitz, manager of Second Hand Rose, an antiques store in New York.

Second Hand Rose has 50,000 rolls of wallpaper dating from the 1920s through the 1960s. Dinowitz says the vintage papers cost less than new but declined to quote prices because those with wallpaper to sell might get an inflated idea of its value.

To make shopping easier in the store, Dinowitz has made sample books from snippets off the rolls. There are six books of florals and three books of geometrics and plaids. There are also books of scenics and samples suitable for a child’s room, the kitchen and the bath.

For those who must shop by mail, Second Hand Rose will send swatches of papers it has selected based on a client’s written description of the pattern desired, plus photographs of the room to be papered and other elements to be used, such as furniture and fabrics. Dinowitz says most available patterns will cover at least one room.

For wallpaper already hung and in need of attention, a handy homeowner could manage modest repairs such as regluing areas that have lifted and gently cleaning the paper by dusting and wiping with a slightly damp rag.

Filter says a conservator can sometimes mask large water stains cosmetically if the paper is valuable enough to warrant the expense. Flaking, a condition in which portions of the pattern are coming off in large chips, cannot be reversed.

If the wallpaper is beyond repair, it is possible to have the pattern copied. Richard E. Thibaut Inc. of Irvington, N.J., is one of a small number of companies copying wallpapers for private clients.

Lori Reagle, art director at Thibaut, says the cost can run about $5,000 for 30 rolls of a fairly simple pattern with as many as eight colors. The price increases with the number of colors, she says, and papers made before 1925 might easily have 18 colors.

“Techniques and inks are different today,” she says, “but it is still possible to get very close to the original.”

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Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, 264 S. 23rd St., Philadelphia, PA 19103. (215) 545-0613.

Second Hand Rose, 270 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012. (212) 431-7673.

Richard E. Thibaut Inc., 706 S. 21st St., Irvington, NJ 07111. (201) 399-7888.