Wallpaper Design by Emanuel Josef Margold

Illustration: Emanuel Josef Margold. Wallpaper design, c1910.

Wallpaper design work is often looked down upon as one of the lesser decorative skills. William Morris was particularly sneering and saw no real creative value or point to wallpaper pattern work. However, that did not stop him from producing prodigious rolls of the stuff throughout most of his career and to a certain extent, it could be said to have kept Morris & Co afloat through the most difficult economic times of the company.

Wallpaper design work is often indicative of a specific design style and can be easily identified and associated, often more so than textiles, with a particular decorative era. Sometimes wallpaper pattern work could even be slightly ahead of the more generalised decorative periods, and examples of wallpaper work can be seen that pre-empted a number of the major interior styles and movements, particularly in the twentieth century. However, even when considering nineteenth and indeed eighteenth century wallpaper work, styles and pattern work were often relatively immediate and topical. Whether this had more to do with the immediacy of the medium, compared to other areas of interiors such as textiles and furniture, or whether it had more to do with the large number of companies involved in the business of wallpaper making and the extreme competition that that engendered, is to be debated.

Wallpaper decoration and the professional designers that fed the industry, usually on a freelance commission basis, were wide-ranging and covered a host of skills from illustration to architecture. Many had little or no experience in the basics of wallpaper design, which is a technical as well as creative occupation. That a large proportion of designers, both commissioned and employed by wallpaper companies were primarily textile designers, suggests a similarity in both design fields. This would help to explain why textiles and wallpaper design are often so closely linked as disciplines when discussing the history of interiors.

The Austrian architect and designer Emanuel Josef Margold produced the two wallpaper designs that illustrate this article at the turn of the first decade of the twentieth century, in about 1910. Margold was known to have produced a range of work during the early twentieth century that included printed and woven textiles, embroidery, and wallpaper design. He was a member of the Wiener Werkstatte where he was for a while Josef Hoffmann's assistant. This relationship often gives the impression that Margold's work was derived from that of Hoffmann, and while there is a certain similarity, it only really corresponds when seen in the larger light of Austrian and German Jugendstil decoration. It has to be remembered that while Margold was indeed a member of the Wiener Werkstatte, he was also a one time resident at the Darmstadt Artists' colony, and also a member of both the German and Austrian Werkbund. This perhaps gives Margold a much larger and more comprehensive appreciation of the decorative arts in Central Europe before the First World War, and also that of his place within it, than perhaps the generalised moniker of being an assistant to Josef Hoffmann.

Illustration: Emanuel Josef Margold. Wallpaper design, c1910.

As to the two examples of his decorative wallpaper work, both appear bold, strikingly confident and graphically motivated. Neither show any of the complexity and involved style that was popular in both France and Britain. To be fair there was an element of pairing down and simplifying of wallpaper design even in France and Britain, although both came to this result from different directions, which was often the result of revivals and historical precedents. However, neither country was involved in modern ideals on anywhere near the scale produced in Central Europe. The movement in Germany and Austria was very much a matter of looking for new concepts and ideas and using many of the new skills being rapidly developed in both architecture and illustration.

This initial discovery and exploration was to become an unstoppable movement that would take decoration and pattern into a whole new area of exploration during the 1920s and 1930s. Inevitably due to the start already made by Margold and others like him throughout Germany and Austria in the first decade of the twentieth century, the notion of true modernism and the exploration and development of that decorative ideal went much further and faster than that of France with its conservatively and elitist led Art Deco formula. 

That decoration and pattern itself was to suffer the shock of being removed or at least disassociated from architecture, and to an extent interiors by the Modernist movement, has led to a seemingly permanent disruption of the central role decoration played for centuries in the cultural life of Europe. That Modernism generally saw the decorative arts as an irrelevance, is still very much with us today and can clearly be seen when considering the very subservient role that the decorative arts play in the world of contemporary architecture.

This was clearly not in the minds of those who designed wallpaper pattern work in 1910. However, the direction of increased simplicity on all fronts of the decorative arts during this period, does beg the question as to the reasoning behind the simplifying and de-cluttering of interiors. It seems as if there was perhaps more significance to the downsizing and eventual downgrading of decoration and pattern than being merely that of the removal of the more ornate excesses of late Victorian decoration and the increasingly scientific approach to health and interiors. Not a conspiracy as such, but perhaps a generalised shift in emphasis and ideal.

Further reading links:
Wallpaper: A History of Style and Trends
Pattern Design: Period Design Source Book
Wallpaper, its history, design and use,
Twentieth-Century Pattern Design
German Modernism: Music and the Arts (California Studies in 20th-Century Music)
Exotic Spaces in German Modernism (Oxford Modern Languages & Literature Monographs)
The Total Work of Art in European Modernism (Signale: Modern German Letters, Cultures, and Thought)
Erich Mendelsohn and the Architecture of German Modernism (Modern Architecture and Cultural Identity)
German Cities and Bourgeois Modernism, 1890-1924
German Encounters with Modernism, 1840-1945
The Divided Heritage: Themes and Problems in German Modernism
Wiener Werkstatte: 1903-1932 (Special Edition)
Wiener Werkstatte: Design in Vienna 1903-1932
Textiles of the Wiener Werkstatte: 1910-1932
Viennese Design and the Wiener Werkstatte
Wiener Werkstatte: Avantgarde, Art Deco, Industrial Design (German Edition)
Wonderful Wiener Werkstatte

Stained Glass Design in the 1820's

Illustration: Nathaniel Whittock. Antique Rosette for Quart Foil, 1828.

Stained glass design seems an age-old tradition, but is perhaps more associated in most peoples minds with the traditions of the medieval period in Europe. Although stained glass design work can be found outside of the continent, particularly in the Islamic world, the breadth and scope, both ecclesiastical and domestic, make European stained glass design one of the central themes of both the craft and decorative arts world.

In 1828, Nathaniel Whittock produced a practical book entitled The Decorative Painters' and Glaziers' Guide. It was published in London and detailed aspects of the world of decorative painters and glaziers. The book itself was split into two sections, one dealing with the imitation of woods and marbles through the use of paint effects, the other with the various aspects of the glaziers trade including both painted and stained glass design. Although much of the book dealt with the technical skills involved in the process of the different decorative effects needed, there was also room for an element of design, even if only shown purely as a practical guide to the vocabulary of stained glass pattern work and how to integrate it within the context of the glazier's craft.

Illustration: Nathaniel Whittock. Stained glass design, 1828.

It is perhaps somewhat misleading of Whittock to call much of the design work 'stained glass', as in fact most of it was clearly painted. He seemed to tread a particularly unclear path by suggesting that by painting decorative motifs and pattern work onto already stained glass work, this could then be classed as stained glass in its own right. The fact that most of us would now assume that stained glass was a specific medieval craft rather than part of a glazier's repertoire, perhaps says much about the era in which Whittocks book was originally published.

It must be remembered that the book was published in 1828 and the date does set a certain amount of definition to the parameters of the decorative work featured in the book, particularly that of the glass work. The 1820s was the period of the reign of George IV, rather than his regency, and was therefore part of the dying days of the Georgian period. Many during this period were well aware that the best days of the House of Hanover were long gone. It was considered by the later Victorians in particular as a tasteless episode where every whim and eccentricity was indulged. They were particularly scathing as far as the architectural and decorative arts were concerned. The irony that later generations would feel the same about the Victorian world was probably beyond their understanding, as it no doubt is when concerning our own contemporary world.

Illustration: Nathaniel Whittock. Stained glass design, 1828.

Although the Victorians indulged in their own fair share of paint effects and illusional qualities when imitating more expensive materials, there were elements within the era that were intensely critical of the previous Georgian period. One such element was the Gothic Revivalists who were deservedly aghast at the general piecemeal and casual approach that Georgian architects and interior decorators had taken to the decorative arts. Church interiors had a particularly bad reputation, with a number of individuals in the late Georgian era removing intrinsic and irreplaceable medieval aspects of many churches and cathedrals. Some of these individuals actually included members of the church themselves who found it enticing to both modernise interiors as well as affecting their own personal stamp on the buildings, hopefully for their own posterity.

Stained glass was a particular problem within the dying days of the Georgian era. A number of original medieval glass panels and windows which had survived the English Reformation, the Civil War and the rule of Cromwell, were removed either to be replaced by inferior workmanship or by plain glass. It was considered by a number of individuals who should have known better, that the removal of medieval stained glass windows was a practical consideration which would allow more light to filter into churches, abbeys and cathedrals. Unfortunately, painted glass of the type recommended by Whittock was part of the problem faced by later generations. The design work was often considered to have been highly inappropriately used within the medieval context of many of the ecclesiastical buildings from that era.

Illustration: Nathaniel Whittock. Rosettes for stained glass, 1828.

It was considered that the Georgian era was classically motivated and therefore intrinsically hostile to the medieval. While not strictly true, there were a number of critics, architects, designers and decorators who tried to blend their own interpretation into the medieval framework, it was noticeable how little genuine research had gone into the decorative work that was classed as medieval or gothic and how much of the ensuing medieval was still very much classically inspired, often having a disingenuous medieval veneer. That many of these additions had to be removed in the later nineteenth century perhaps says much about the workmanship. However, many Victorian restorers did much more damage than the late Georgians and fundamentally so, leaving many ecclesiastical buildings across England irreparably damaged and altered.

Stained glass itself was perhaps one of the success stories of English nineteenth century craft and the decorative arts. Although much of the work highlighted by Whittock was painted glass rather than stained, the Victorians set themselves the task of re-learning the original medieval stained glass craft much of which had been long forgotten. This included traditional forms of glass making, colouring and lead work, much of which Whittock's book reproduced through imitation and illusion. In this respect, ecclesiastical and domestic stained glass produced from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, had a much more traditional grounding and was linked directly to the medieval craft, rather than to that of the Georgian ideals of illusion and make believe.

However, it is also important to remember that Whittock was working within the tried and tested parameters of the Georgian decorative arts. He was particularly concerned with of the practical application of those arts as used by professionals within the trades that supplied the interiors market. It was not necessarily up to him to challenge the prevailing tastes and judgements of the day.

Illustration: Nathaniel Whittock. Rosettes for stained glass, 1828.

For anyone as interested as I am in the extraordinary length that some book titles reached in the nineteenth century, they might be interested in hearing the full title of Whittock's 1828 publication. While many referred to the book as The Decorative Painters' and Glaziers' Guide it was in fact titled The Decorative Painters' and Glaziers' Guide; Containing the Most Approved Methods of Imitating Oak, Mahogany, Maple, Rose, Cedar, Coral, and Every Other Kind of Fancy Wood; Verd Antique, Dove, Sienna, Porphyry, White Veined, and Other Marbles; in Oil or Distemper Colour: Designs for Decorating Apartments, in Accordance with the Various Styles of Architecture; With Directions for Stencilling, and Process for Destroying Damp in Walls; Also a Complete Body of Information on the Art of Staining and Painting on Glass; Plans for the Erection of Apparatus for Annealing it; and the Method of Joining Figures Together by Leading, With Examples from Ancient Windows.

Further reading links:
Basic Stained Glass Making: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started (How To Basics)
Stained Glass Basics: Techniques * Tools * Projects
English Stained Glass
Medieval and Renaissance Stained Glass in the Victoria and Albert Museum
English and French Medieval Stained Glass in the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Corpus Vitrearum)
Picturing the Celestial City: The Medieval Stained Glass of Beauvais Cathedral
Stained Glass From Medieval Times to Present: Treasures to be Seen in New York
The Medieval Stained Glass of Lancashire (Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi: Great Britain)
The Medieval Stained Glass of Cheshire (Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi)
Medieval Stained Glass in Suffolk Churches: "Let the Stained Glass Speak"
The Medieval Stained Glass of Wells Cathedral (Corpus Vitraearum Medii Aevi)
Life, Death and Art: The Medieval Stained Glass of Fairford Parish Church A - A Multimedia Exploration
The Armor of Light: Stained Glass in Western France, 1250-1325 (California Studies in the History of Art)
Medieval and Renaissance Stained Glass 1200-1550 (Catalogue, 30)
A History of the Stained Glass of St. George's Chapel, Windsor (Historical Monographs Relating to St.George's Chapel, Windsor Castle)

Imitation Moulding Wallpapers of the 1840s

Illustration: Turner & Sons. Imitation moulding wallpaper design, 1849.

The first half of the nineteenth century saw a rise in the popularity of imitation wallpapers. These were wallpaper designs that were created specifically to portray the illusion that they were either types of materials or a form of decoration, which they clearly were not. Therefore, many of these wallpapers created an effect of a pretence to marble and other stonework, as well as a number of expensive imported woods. Our modern day equivalent would probably be laminate flooring, which gives the impression from a distance of solid wood floors, but clearly on closer inspection is just a photograph of a wood effect pasted onto pressed wood dust.

As to the nineteenth century decorative effects themselves, moulding styles usually based on a classical theme, were particularly fashionable. It seems unlikely that these imitation moulding wallpapers would have actually fooled anyone into believing that they were originals, but perhaps that was never their real intention. It seems likely that they were intended to give an ambience, rather than to be dishonest. In the hands of professional decorators these imitation wallpaper themes could prove very effective. However, some customers when deciding to take on their own decorative schemes, either through lack of funds or a misguided appreciation of their own decorative skills, did use them sometimes in staggering degrees of excess. They could be found in some homes framing the frames of paintings and the individual panels of doors. They were also used to border every conceivable wall and ceiling surface, even producing geometric patterns on ceilings, which gave the altogether disconcerting effect of outlining everything with a bold pen or brush.

The two pieces illustrating this article were produced by the English company Turner & Sons in 1849. They are representations of standard Greek style stucco moulding that could have been found in any Georgian or early Victorian interior and are therefore part of the general Georgian theme rather than that of the later Victorian. By the latter half of the nineteenth century, many of these imitation wallpapers were frowned on as being deliberately illusional or at least misrepresentations of reality. However, this did not stop the concept of imitation decoration as the large and complex trade in paint effects became extremely fashionable. The effects of both stone and wood were endlessly copied in different types of paint effect, on walls, ceilings, doors, windows and furniture. That one of the most popular paint effect techniques was the illusional representation of marble, perhaps says much about the later Victorian era.

Illustration: Turner & Sons. Imitation moulding wallpaper design, 1849.

Styles were often different within wallpapers themselves, with paper designs that was to be seen at a closer level were usually much more complex than those that were to be seen from a greater distance such as ceiling or near ceiling height. These imitation wallpapers sometimes gave the design reform movement great difficulty as many were against any form of obvious dishonesty or illusional form. That these decorative designs did both left some critics in no doubt as to their dubious intentions and purpose. However, other critics saw these decorative wallpaper effects as merely giving an ambience without the intention of deceit, and were therefore perfectly acceptable for interior use. To go back to our own contemporary analogy of laminate flooring, does the laminate try to portray itself as a solid wood floor, or does it instead give an overall ambience that would be appreciative of a room with a solid wood floor, while still being obvious to everyone that it was a laminate.

One thing that is sure is the fact that imitation wallpaper and paint effects were around for a long time before the mid nineteenth century and are still very much with us in the twenty first.

Further reading links:
Fabrics and Wallpapers: Twentieth-Century Design
Wall Papers for Historic Buildings: A Guide to Selecting Reproduction Wallpapers
Wallpaper: A History of Style and Trends
Wallpaper, its history, design and use,
Fabrics and Wallpapers: Design Source Book
Wallpaper (Historic Houses Trust Collection)
Wallpaper and the Artist: From Durer to Warhol
French Scenic Wallpaper 1795-1865
Landscape Wallcoverings (Cooper Hewitt National Design)
Fabrics and Wallpapers for Historic Buildings
Pattern Design: Period Design Source Book
The Papered Wall: The History, Patterns and Techniques of Wallpaper, Second Edition
Wallpaper in Interior Decoration
Wallpaper: The Ultimate Guide
London Wallpapers: Their Manufacture and Use 1690-1840 (Revised Edition)
Victorian Wallpaper Designs (Internatinal Design Library)
Twentieth-Century Pattern Design
Wallpaper in America: From the Seventeenth Century to World War I
Wallpaper, Its History, Design and Use; With Frontispiece in Colour and Numerous Illustrations From Photographs