Wall decoration is as old as humankind and even dates back to the cave paintings. The first wall coverings appeared in the Orient in the 11th century and were made from leather, before nobles began to decorate walls with parchment wallpaper.
In the 16th century, Chinese wallpaper reached Europe and enjoyed great popularity. Increasing demand in England and France encouraged the independent production of wallpaper. Neither the production of the paper nor the printing was done industrially at the time and was instead a painstaking, laborious process done by hand. It was only later that the technical fabric printing process was transferred to paper, enabling a faster production of wallpaper; an advancement that prompted the opening of Germany’s first wallpaper print shop in Kassel. At the time, the paper could not be produced in long webs, which resulted in the webs not being printed uniformly. It was only when a wallpaper manufacturer named Jean Zuber tried printing the paper webs using wood blocks that there was a breakthrough, and the paper could be printed evenly.
Later, in 1799, a French papermaker developed a machine that could extend paper over a very long distance. This represented a significant milestone in the history of wall coverings and enabled the papering of floor-to-ceiling walls and the mass production of the paper.
Especially after the Second World War, wallpaper and murals became popular and were no longer considered a luxury product only for the elite. A veritable boom took place in the 1970s with wallpaper making its way into many German households. Brightly coloured wallpaper with garish patterns was a typical trend of the time.
Today, wallpapers and murals are available in various materials and designs, ranging from Scandi-inspired looks to Bauhaus or quirky retro wallpaper from the 70s, and will brighten up any home.
