Portion of two flock wallpapers, one pasted over the other
England
About 1760-70
From 26 Soho Square, London
Museum no. E.596A, 596B-1985
Given by Mr Robert Weston, on behalf of the G.L. C. Department of Architecture and Civic Design

The paper underneath, a red flock with a formal pomegranate and pineapple design on a gold diaper ground, has a large repeat pattern in the style of damask fabrics and cut velvets. It is also similar to the Spitalfields silk designs of the 1940s by Anna Maria Garthwaite. Papers with an identical designbut printed in a single colour have been found in Eagle House, Bathford (yellow flock), and at Doddington Hall, Lincolnshire.

The paper was supplied to Sir William Robinson by Chippendale, and recorded in a receipt dated May 1760. It was hung in both the front and rear rooms of the first floor, between dado rail and cornice. The second paper, with a smaller pattern of trailing flowers and foliage on a blue-grey ground of formalised floral motifs, probably dates from around 1770. Flocks were heavier than other papers and required a stronger glue to fix them to the wall, so it was not uncommon to paste the new paper on top, rather than go to the trouble and additional expense of removing the previous paper.