This is a scenic wallpaper designed for your bathroom. Called Sea Beauties, this was lithograph printed in Germany around 1930. The lithograph printing gives it a very soft look, almost like a watercolor, and because it is printed with oils is water resistant. Washable wallpapers as we know them today were not developed until 1934 and lithograph prints were one of the early wipeable papers. This set is composed of three panels, each 40 inches wide by over five feet high. The printing on the third panel lines up with the first so this underwater scene could continue uninterrupted around your bathroom. Up into the 1950s the majority of wallpapers designed for bathrooms contained water themes such as mermaids, seashells or fish, or printed imitations of ceramic tiles. This paper takes the water theme to a whole new level and I imagine it would transform your bathing experience.Transform
Gregory Herringshaw
Scenic wallpaper: Sea Beauties. Germany, ca. 1930. Manufactured by The P Co., Distributed by Ideal Wall Decoration. Lithograph printed. Gift of the family of Victor S. Robinson, Salem, New Jersey.
Museum Number:
2004-16-1
Collection Record: