Bolling & Company

Bo speaks to preservation issues in this podcast from Keperling Preservation Services...

Bo Sullivan joined the Practical Preservation podcast to discuss a long career in preservation and his two companies Bolling and Co (period style wallpaper as art) and Arcalus Period Design. You can listen here: https://practicalpreservationservices.com/practical-preservation-podcast-featuring-bo-sullivan-of-bolling-co-and-arcalus-period-design/

FARM SCENES c1932

Two layers found behind a (later installed) corner cabinet in the breakfast nook of a 1932 Portland home. The yellow strip is the lower layer, and presumably original to the house. Besides being utterly charming, it is also color-coordinated wonderfully with the original inlaid linoleum floor. The second green paper was applied over the yellow paper. Interesting how they selected such a similar theme (and also somewhat coordinated to the floor). Also interesting is how eventually the room was painted in a pale yellow that seems to intuitively bring it back to the color it started with.

I did not see any evidence that the yellow paper was on top of yet another layer, and the match to floor leads me to the conclusion that the paper is original to 1932, yet I had not associated these farm scene papers - which were very popular - with being quite this early... I always thought of them as more of a late-1930s/1940s thing. I'll have to go back and search thorough our archive of original sample books to see when they first appear!

I am strongly reminded of this example in our collection, one of my all time favorites:

https://bollingco.com/collections/ready-to-hang/products/copy-of-farm-scene-mounted-antique-wallpaper-panel-sold

THE PEACOCK FRIEZE

For our final post during Arts & Crafts Month at Bolling & Company, we offer publicly for the first time an original remnant that is one of our favorite pieces in our inventory.

The Peacock Frieze was originally designed by W. Dennington and produced by Shand Kydd around 1900. It was famously installed in Blackwell, known as the Arts & Crafts House, by M. H. Baillie Scott, where it still hangs today.

Our version, which is 39” high and 60” wide, is one half of an adaptation produced c1910-1914 as a two-part intaglio-printed extended design on a grass-cloth-textured paper featuring a full version of the peacock without the truncated tail (as shown) and a second panel featuring only the brambles, allowing a less repetitive layout placing the peacocks only in desired locations (which we reproduced for our first gallery space, as shown).

Our remnant is not in perfect condition, with some damage along the top and bottom edges, but the vast majority of the piece is in excellent condition, and the roughness at the edge simply adds to the character. It would be a stunning framed piece. Please direct-message us for additional photos, pricing, and availability.

We do offer this paper as a full two-part reproduction and have done some gorgeous digital prints on aluminum panels for indoor/outdoor use that shimmer in the light as the metal grain shows through the transparent inks.

To see the Dennington original at the V&A:

https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O228636/peacock-wallpaper-dennington-w/

More on the Peacock Frieze at Blackwell House in Bowness-on-Windermere, UK:

https://www.facebook.com/blackwellartsandcrafts/photos/pb.173653319313226.-2207520000../5179118715433303/

Our posts this month have focused on history and context for Arts & Crafts wallpapers with research and images drawn from our extensive archives, but our business offers rare museum-quality antique remnants across a wide range of eras. If you haven’t had a chance to check us out yet, please visit www.bollingco.com online to explore our one-of-a-kind inventory, and follow us on Facebook and on Instagram at

Thanks for joining us these last 28 days during Arts & Crafts Month at Bolling & Company.