Visions of mid century luxuriousness by Albert Van Luit who dressed up Hollywood. Born in Cleveland Ohio, Albert Van Luit relocated himself to southern California at a youthful age. His wallcoverings defined mid century luxury interior design from the 1950s to the 1970s. These images are in the Huntington Library and were shot by Maynard Parker.

Dining room and wallpaper: Wallpaper setups in the Robertson store decorated by Mary Jane Carson, and at a decorator show. In an envelope labeled “Robertson window by Mary Jane Carson/Booths at Sports arena”. Los Angeles, California, where the Albert Van Luit and Company Complex was located. June 1964 image. American. Maynard Parker, photographer with this image being part of a photo shoot for Albert Van Luit which is archived at the Huntington. Originally under copyright. Fair use license. via https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p15150coll5/id/17906/rec/24
Wallpaper Setups. Presumably photographed at the Albert Van Luit and Company Complex in Los Angeles as a different location is not given. California, USA. March 28, 1961 image. American. Color transparency. Maynard Parker, photographer with this image being part of a collection of photographs and color transparencies shot for Albert Van Luit that is archived at the Huntington. Originally under copyright. Fair use license. via https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p15150coll5/id/17869/rec/25
Cannell and Chaffin. Display booth and Wallpaper: Wallpaper setups at decorator’s show at Hollywood Palladium. Hollywood, California USA. June 24, 1962 image. American. Photographed by Maynard Parker for Albert Van Luit and Company. Part of a Van Luit and Maynard Parker archive at the Huntington Library. Originally under copyright. Fair use license. https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p15150coll5/id/17913/rec/28
Ruth Brand: Display booth and Wallpaper: Wallpaper setups at decorator’s show at the Hollywood Palladium. Hollywood, California USA. June 24, 1962 image. American. Photographed by Maynard Parker for Albert Van Luit and Company. Part of a Van Luit and Maynard Parker archive at the Huntington Library. Originally under copyright. Fair use license. https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p15150coll5/id/17911/rec/30
Newport Bluffs Model Apartments (Living Room). Newport Beach, California USA. June 1965 image. American. Photographed by Maynard Parker for Albert Van Luit and Company. Part of a Van Luit and Maynard Parker archive at the Huntington Library. Originally under copyright. Fair use license. https://hdl.huntington.org/digital/collection/p15150coll5/id/20089/rec/60

Learn a bit more about Albert Van Luit, the business he created and the people who worked for him here https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/discover-lgbtqia-los-angeles-albert-van-luit-complex

Art Deco wallpaper, some sort of floral but all with that Art Deco geometric spin. 1920-1940 with most of these being from the mid 1920s-mid 1920s. Société Charles Follot, Paris, makers. Loving the designs.

Wwallpaper with a repeating motif. Elephant gray background, machine-printed in eight colors: pale pink, off-white, Indian pink (2 tones), silver powder, gold powder, and dark pink. ca. 1925-1930. French, Made in Paris by Société Charles Follot. Collections of the Bibliothèque Forney. In the public domain due to age. https://bibliotheques-specialisees.paris.fr/ark:/73873/pf0000844530/v0001.simple.selectedTab=record
Wallpaper with a repeating motif. Light earth background machine printed in seven colors: pale salmon pink, earth tones (three tones, salmon pink (two tones), silver powder. ca. 1925-1930. French, Made in Paris by Société Charles Follot. Collections of the Bibliothèque Forney. In the public domain due to age. https://bibliotheques-specialisees.paris.fr/ark:/73873/pf0000844546/v0001.simple.selectedTab=record
Wallpaper with a repeating motif. Light grey background, machine printed in three colors: dark background (two tones), black head. ca. 1929-1930. French, Made in Paris by Société Charles Follot. Collections of the Bibliothèque Forney. In the public domain due to age. https://bibliotheques-specialisees.paris.fr/ark:/73873/pf0000844603/v0001.simple.selectedTab=record
Wallpaper with a repeating motif. Ultramarine blue background machine printed in four colors: light royal blue, elephant gray, Prussian blue, and silver powder. ca. 1925-1935. French, Made in Paris by Société Charles Follot. Collections of the Bibliothèque Forney. In the public domain due to age. https://bibliotheques-specialisees.paris.fr/ark:/73873/pf0000844531/v0001.simple.selectedTab=record
Wallpaper with a repeating motif. Pale blue background, machine printed in three colors: dark background (two tones), and silver powder. 1930-1935. French, Made in Paris by Société Charles Follot. Collections of the Bibliothèque Forney. In the public domain due to age. https://bibliotheques-specialisees.paris.fr/ark:/73873/pf0000844577/v0001.simple.selectedTab=record
Wallpaper with a repeating motif. Light carmine background, machine printed in three colors: dark background (two tones), and silver powder. ca. 1929. Henry Stephany, illustrator. French, Made in Paris by Société Charles Follot. Collections of the Bibliothèque Forney. In the public domain due to age. https://bibliotheques-specialisees.paris.fr/ark:/73873/pf0000844602/v0001.simple.selectedTab=record

Fill your powder room with 18th century looking people all in different colorways but dressed the same. “Marquise” ou “Fais ce que dois” 1928-1929 wallpaper mockups in different colorways from Isidore Leroy, makers of fine wallpaper since 1842.

“Marquise” ou “Fais ce que dois” wallpaper mockup in nine colors. 1928-1929. French. Gouache on paper. Robert Mahais, illustrator. Société Isidore Leroy. Collections of the Bibliothèque Forney. Bibliothèque Nationale de France/Gallica BnF. https://bibliotheques-specialisees.paris.fr/in/imageReader.xhtml?id=ark:/73873/pf0000847772/0001&ark=/ark:/73873/pf0000847772/0001

“Marquise” ou “Fais ce que dois” wallpaper mockup in nine colors. 1928-1929. French. Gouache on paper. Robert Mahais, illustrator. Société Isidore Leroy. Collections of the Bibliothèque Forney. Bibliothèque Nationale de France/Gallica BnF. https://bibliotheques-specialisees.paris.fr/ark:/73873/pf0000847772/0002?

“Marquise” ou “Fais ce que dois” wallpaper mockup in nine colors. 1928-1929. French. Gouache on paper. Robert Mahais, illustrator. Société Isidore Leroy. Collections of the Bibliothèque Forney. Bibliothèque Nationale de France/Gallica BnF. https://bibliotheques-specialisees.paris.fr/ark:/73873/pf0000847772/0003?

The description with these on Gallica BnF states that the original drawings for these mockups was cited in The Renaissance of French art, August and September 1928; Living Art, September 28; wallpapers and stains, March and August 1928; Advertising in Illustration, 1929. The same drawings also won a fourth prize in the competition organized by the Société Isidore Leroy in 1928. Visit Isidore Leroy here. https://us.isidoreleroy.com/

Have a powder room like the Empress Joséphine’s. Wallpaper borders by Jacquemart et Bérnard. A French wallpaper manufacturer, they were active from 1791 to 1840 with all of these samples being from 1803. 

Frieze strip of geometric patterns. Wallpaper border. 1803. French. Jacquemart et Bénard, manufacturer. Image source gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France. Artwork in the public domain due to age. via https://gallica.bnf.fr/services/engine/search/sru?operation=searchRetrieve&version=1.2&query=%28gallica%20all%20%22Jacquemart%20et%20B%C3%A9nard%22%29&lang=en&suggest=0
Strip of frieze alternating a diamond framed by two bases and a rosette. Wallpaper border. 1803. French. Jacquemart et Bénard, manufacturer. Image source gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France. Artwork in the public domain due to age. via https://gallica.bnf.fr/services/engine/search/sru?operation=searchRetrieve&version=1.2&query=%28gallica%20all%20%22Jacquemart%20et%20B%C3%A9nard%22%29&lang=en&suggest=0#

Two bands of frieze of arched arches and fancy fruit, on a line of stars. Wallpaper border. 1803. French. Jacquemart et Bénard, manufacturer. Image source gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France. Artwork in the public domain due to age. via https://gallica.bnf.fr/services/engine/search/sru?operation=searchRetrieve&version=1.2&query=%28gallica%20all%20%22Jacquemart%20et%20B%C3%A9nard%22%29&lang=en&suggest=0
Band of frieze with stars and fleurons. Wallpaper border. 1803. French. Jacquemart et Bénard, manufacturer. Image source gallica.bnf.fr/Bibliothèque nationale de France. Artwork in the public domain due to age. via https://gallica.bnf.fr/services/engine/search/sru?operation=searchRetrieve&version=1.2&query=%28gallica%20all%20%22Jacquemart%20et%20B%C3%A9nard%22%29&lang=en&suggest=0

Exotic up your winter no matter how many sleet storms there are. Wallpaper panels of “Telemachus on the Island of Calypso” by the firm of Joseph Dufour et Cie which was founded in 1797. Printed in Paris, France. All of these being part of the same lot up for bid with Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers who are part of the Bonhams network.

Telemachus on the Island of Calypso. One of a set of four that make up two pairs of wallpapers with block-printed colorful panoramic views composed on joined sheets of wallpaper later mounted on canvas that have architectural landscapes animated by mythological character scenes. 1815-1820. French. Joseph Dufour et Cie, maker. Image © Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers, part of the Bonhams network. Wallpaper itself in the public domain due to age. via https://bruun-rasmussen.dk/m/lots/A3F446EDA292
Telemachus on the Island of Calypso. One of a set of four that make up two pairs of wallpapers with block-printed colorful panoramic views composed on joined sheets of wallpaper later mounted on canvas that have architectural landscapes animated by mythological character scenes. 1815-1820. French. Joseph Dufour et Cie, maker. Image © Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers, part of the Bonhams network. Wallpaper itself in the public domain due to age. via https://bruun-rasmussen.dk/m/lots/A3F446EDA292
Telemachus on the Island of Calypso. One of a set of four that make up two pairs of wallpapers with block-printed colorful panoramic views composed on joined sheets of wallpaper later mounted on canvas that have architectural landscapes animated by mythological character scenes. 1815-1820. French. Joseph Dufour et Cie, maker. Image © Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers, part of the Bonhams network. Wallpaper itself in the public domain due to age. via https://bruun-rasmussen.dk/m/lots/A3F446EDA292
Telemachus on the Island of Calypso. One of a set of four that make up two pairs of wallpapers with block-printed colorful panoramic views composed on joined sheets of wallpaper later mounted on canvas that have architectural landscapes animated by mythological character scenes. 1815-1820. French. Joseph Dufour et Cie, maker. Image © Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers, part of the Bonhams network. Wallpaper itself in the public domain due to age. via https://bruun-rasmussen.dk/m/lots/A3F446EDA292

From the auctioneer’s description on this lot’s website page:

“Panoramic wallpaper: Already at the end of the 18th century, panoramic wallpaper was ready to replace tapestries and silk panels, which had become too expensive for bourgeois and aristocratic homes. The motifs showing the neoclassical style, which was in vogue at the time, experienced an unprecedented growth and many workshops appeared, both in Paris and in the provinces. Joseph Dufour’s workshop was one of the most famous of them and compete with the other wallpaper companig called Zuber. Joseph Dufour was born in Tramayes (today in Saône-et-Loire) in 1754, he first settled in Macon, where his factory was founded in 1797, before settling in Paris ten years later. The designers Laffitte and Xavier Mader brought their talent to the company and gained traction and popularity in all parts of society. Dufour then began his production of panoramic papers, often depicting colorful classical, oriental or even very exotic landscapes from the shores of the Bosphorus to the islands of the South Sea or as we discover at this sale architectural landscapes with animated mythological scenes, showing young girls in Greco-Roman tunics and uniformed soldiers on horseback, while elsewhere they indulge in the joys of the swing.”

Wallpaper samples from R. C. Kedzie’s 1874 work “Shadows from the Walls of Death.” Lovely colors but filled with arsenic which was used in the green dyes.

Pale green wallpaper with gold motifs. 1874. Image 23 of R. C. Kedzie’s, Shadows from the Walls of Death: Facts and Inferences Prefacing a Book of Specimens of Arsenical Wall Papers which was published in Lansing, Michigan by the State Board of Health. Internet Archive via the Public Domain Review. via https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/kedzie-shadows
Wallpaper. 1874. Image 31 of R. C. Kedzie’s, Shadows from the Walls of Death: Facts and Inferences Prefacing a Book of Specimens of Arsenical Wall Papers which was published in Lansing, Michigan by the State Board of Health. Internet Archive via the Public Domain Review. via https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/kedzie-shadows
Wallpaper. 1874. Image 35 of R. C. Kedzie’s, Shadows from the Walls of Death: Facts and Inferences Prefacing a Book of Specimens of Arsenical Wall Papers which was published in Lansing, Michigan by the State Board of Health. Internet Archive via the Public Domain Review. via https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/kedzie-shadows
Wallpaper design with pink and white flowers. Wallpaper. 1874. Image 37 of R. C. Kedzie’s, Shadows from the Walls of Death: Facts and Inferences Prefacing a Book of Specimens of Arsenical Wall Papers which was published in Lansing, Michigan by the State Board of Health. Internet Archive via the Public Domain Review. via https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/kedzie-shadows
Wallpaper with white flowers and mauve leaves.Wallpaper. 1874. Image 59 of R. C. Kedzie’s, Shadows from the Walls of Death: Facts and Inferences Prefacing a Book of Specimens of Arsenical Wall Papers which was published in Lansing, Michigan by the State Board of Health. Internet Archive via the Public Domain Review. via https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/kedzie-shadows
Star design wallpaper in red and green. Wallpaper with white flowers and mauve leaves.Wallpaper. 1874. Image 111 of R. C. Kedzie’s, Shadows from the Walls of Death: Facts and Inferences Prefacing a Book of Specimens of Arsenical Wall Papers which was published in Lansing, Michigan by the State Board of Health. Internet Archive via the Public Domain Review. via https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/kedzie-shadows

Designs for rooms with lots of wallpaper, by interior designer H. Blais. Just copy it all exactly and you can have the most fashionable residence in Paris. Trade samples for J. Grantil who made wallpaper. Not a book, but rather 26 unnumbered leaves of plates that came with a title statement and wrapper. Art Déco.

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“Moderne” and “Sole Mio” Page 1. Image © 2017 The Wolfsonian—Florida International University. Fair use license. via https://digital.wolfsonian.org/WOLF053831/00001/1

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“Cottage” and Mosaique.” Page 9. Image © 2017 The Wolfsonian—Florida International University. Fair use license. via https://digital.wolfsonian.org/WOLF053831/00001/9

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“Bataquia” and “Sylvie.” Page 2. Image © 2017 The Wolfsonian—Florida International University. Fair use license. via https://digital.wolfsonian.org/WOLF053831/00001/2

Wallcovering designs from an 1890 catalog for the Lincrusta-Walton Company which was based in New York City. Lincrusta was a mixture of oxidized linseed oil and wood pulp. Once the material is manufactured, it is machine-pressed and embossed to create a textured design.

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“Fleur de Lis and Circles.” Hanging wallcovering, Number 98. Page 21. Collection of and digitalized by the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125000661575/page/n21/mode/2up

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“Colonial” frieze. Number 1151. Page 112. Collection of and digitalized by the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125000661575/page/n113/mode/2up

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Panel designs, numbers 58 and 59. Page 198. Collection of and digitalized by the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125000661575/page/n198/mode/2up

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Centre. Number 3097. Page 145. Collection of and digitalized by the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125000661575/page/n145/mode/2up

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“Renaissance.” Corner designs, numbers 3043 and 3044. Page 169. Collection of and digitalized by the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125000661575/page/n169/mode/2up

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“Rivet.” Hanging wallcovering, Number 109. Page 25. Collection of and digitalized by the Getty Research Institute. In the public domain. via https://archive.org/details/gri_33125000661575/page/n25/mode/2up

A selection of scenic wallpapers from the website of Zuber which has been manufacturing wallpaper since 1797 in Rixheim, France. All of these being available right now, printed in 2020 but with the original woodblocks from the 19th century. The perfect way to daydream an afternoon away.

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“Isola Bella,” lengths 1 to 9. Made with woodblocks carved in 1843 by the manufacturory’s workers. Image © Zuber Manufacturory. Fair use license. via https://www.zuber.fr/en/scenic-wallpapers/isola-bella-1to9-1

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“Eldorado with accompanying dado.” Made with woodblocks carved in 1848 by the manufacturory’s workers. Image © Zuber Manufacturory. Fair use license. via https://www.zuber.fr/en/scenic-wallpapers/edorado-dado

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“Jardin Japonais,” complete scenery. Made with woodblocks carved in 1861 by the manufacturory’s workers. Image © Zuber Manufacturory. Fair use license. via https://www.zuber.fr/en/scenic-wallpapers/japanese-garden

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“El Dorado.” Lengths 1- 7. Made with woodblocks carved in 1848 by the manufacturory’s workers. Image © https://www.zuber.fr/en/scenic-wallpapers/eldorado-1to7

Wallpaper friezes (borders) to decorate the salon before Empress Josephine pays her call. From Manufacture Chapillon who thrived in Paris around 1802. You just couldn’t have a stylish home without them. From BnF Gallica, the digital library of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

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Frieze with stylized leaves. 1802. French. Printed on a plate in three colors on a bright yellow background. Collections of the BnF Gallica. In the public domain. via https://gallica.bnf.fr/services/engine/search/sru?operation=searchRetrieve&version=1.2&query=%28gallica%20all%20%22Manufacture%20Chapillon%22%29&lang=en&suggest=3
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Frieze with what may be pine cones and stylized leaves. 1802. French. Printed on a plate in three colors on a fine green background with fluff and transplanted color. Chapillon, maker. Collections of the BnF Gallica. In the public domain. via https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b69001696.r=Manufacture%20Chapillon?rk=171674;4
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Frieze with fancy leaves and what looks like lily of the valley. 1802. French. Printed on a plate in four colors on a purple background and fluff. Chapillon, maker. Collections of the BnF Gallica. In the public domain. via https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b69001807.r=Manufacture%20Chapillon?rk=214593;2
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Frieze with a design alternating flowers and fancy leaves. 1801. French. Printed on a plate in seven colors on a bright yellow background. Chapillon, maker. Collections of the BnF Gallica. In the public domain. via https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b69001629.r=Manufacture%20Chapillon?rk=236052;4
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Frieze in the design of fancy geometric and plant patterns. 1802. French. Printed on a plate in two colors on a bright yellow background. Chapillon, maker. Collection of the BnF Gallica. In the public domain. via https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b69001718.r=Manufacture%20Chapillon?rk=64378;0