Have you got thick, embossed paper at dado level in your hallway and up your stairs? Chances are that it is a product invented in 1887 by Thomas, made from cotton pulp to imitate stucco, embossed leather or wood panels, which he called Anaglypta – Greek for ‘raised cameo’. The development of Anaglypta can be traced back to the invention of Lincrusta in 1877 by Frederick Walton. It became an instant success because it was the first washable wallcovering and appealed to the Victorians because of its sanitary properties as well as its durability and ornate effects. Originally made on a linen backing, it was however, quite rigid. Because of this, an employee called Thomas John Palmer invented a similar product which, being made from wood pulp and cotton, was lighter and more flexible. This was to become Anaglypta, also known as relief wallpaper.
Victorians loved Anaglypta as it could be painted in a variety of special effects and gave texture and pattern to boring old walls. It’s also a great way of disguising lumps, bumps and hairline cracks in plasterwork. Victorian taste ran to some pretty intensely decorated surfaces beginning with the walls of a room. Skirting boards, dado, dado rail, picture rails and ceiling cornicing were all part of making a wall surface more interesting. Colour then added an extra dimension with convention dictating that each feature was painted progressively lighter from bottom to top – so the Anaglypta part of the wall tends to be painted several shades darker than the area above the dado. The company still exists today and, of course, has expanded its offer to include designs from the Edwardian and art Deco era as well as more contemporary patterns. It’s certainly a good choice for a period home, especially for hallways which get a lot of wear, in fact, for me, it would be amongst my must have’s along with an encaustic tile floor.
