Early American
Wallpaper

Joseph Rameé, distributed by
Messrs. Virchaux & Co.
"Design of double columns, ornamented with grapes and vine leaves--another part ornamented with losanges, placed horizontally forming the intervals"
Color block prints from wood engravings
Prints & Photographs Division
Copyright deposit,
between 1810 and 1820 (146.7)

The distribution rights for this wallpaper design by Joseph Rameé was obtained by the Philadelphia firm of Messrs. Virchaux & Co. Philadelphia had become the center of wallpaper production in the United States by the end of the eighteenth century, although French influence continued to dominate the design of domestic papers. Subjects ranged from commemorative and panoramic scenes to designs drawn from architecture and nature, like the garland adorning these two tromp l'oeil columns.