Azalée

Wallpaper manufacturers and decorating firms have published pattern books showing rooms decorated with specific wallpapers and matching furnishings and fabrics since the late 19th century. These were a help to customers, because it was difficult to judge the effect of a wall covered in a large-scale pattern using only a sample as a guide. Here the grey Art Deco-style wallpaper is hung in panels with a narrow border, and with a plain paper of a contrasting shade, as was the fashion at the time. The room is an office or a study.

Print · Paris · 1930. Colour half-tone. By Paul Gruin. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.