Pattern book of Zuber & Cie, the world’s leading manufacturer of wallpapers, ca. 1931

ZUBER & CIE [Manufacturer of luxury wallpapers since 1797, Rixheim, France]: REDUCTIONS DES PANNEAUX & DECORS [Reduced Views of Wallpapers and Decors]. Edités par Zuber & Cie. Pattern book with 14 mounted multicolour sketches and 1 multicolour title page with ornamental framing in silk screen printing, 4 mounted original photographies as well as 35 illustrated mounted leaves of cliché printing, of which 8 coloured, depicting and describing different wallpapers designed between 1807 and 1931. S. l. [Rixheim]: Self published, s. a. [ca. 1931].

Oblong-Folio (41:31 cm). [1 leaf (title)], 27 tissue guarded brown cardboards with mounted leafs mostly on both sides. Silkscreen printing, cliché, half-tone and offset, bound with 3 brass pins in the original company's cloth map with gilt embossed spine title.

Swedish resellers hand-copy of a particularly rare original pattern book of famous Zuber & Cie, the world's leading manufacturer of hand-printed scenic wallpapers.

Contents: Zuber of Rickheim (Alsace, France) was founded in 1797 and until today is the world's leading manufacturer of luxury panoramic wallpapers, thus specialising on romantic landscapes and historic sceneries. Most of Zuber's wallpapers are hand-printed, mainly from the original wood-blocks dating back to the 19th century. Additionally Zuber later started to also use other high quality hand-printing printing techniques for their wallpapers, e.g. silk screen, a method that allows particular intensity and plasticity of colours. Silk screen printing was also used to produce the 14 smaller scaled sketches of strips of the company's classic wallpapers mounted in present pattern book.

The album contains sketches of and/or documentation about 15 of Zuber's wallpapers, »Le paysage à chasses« (The Hunting Landscape, 1831, 4 sketches in colour), »Décor Chinois« (Chinese Decor, 1832, 1 sketch in colour), »Eldorado« (1848, 3 sketches in colour), »Jardin Chinois« (Chinese Garden, 1861,1 sketch in colour), »Les courses de cheveaux« (Horse Races, 1873, 2 sketches in shades of grey)»Paysage Italien« (Italian Landscape, 1912, 1 sketch in shades of grey), »Le panier fleuri« (The Flower Basket, 1 sketch in colour, complete set), among others.

The most famous of Zuber's wallpapers, »Vues de l’Amérique du Nord« (Views of North America, 1834-36) – printed in 32 strips each measuring 4 meters in height and half a meter in width – is also documented in present pattern book which 5 half-tone reproductions of the whole scenery. This wallpaper was installed in the White House Diplomatic Reception Room at the instigation of First Lady Jackie Kennedy in 1961.

All specimen are titled, signed and numbered in print. Attached are 2 typewritten lists of a Swedish reseller with handwritten notes.

Condition: Cover at edges and corners slightly bumped, some cardboards, leaves and tissues with small tears, leaves occasionally partly loose, tissues in parts creased and with faults, title page finger-stained and with some tears at margins (these skilfully repaired), some leaves with handwritten remarks (dating etc.); 2 mounted leaves were removed.

Rarity: As of February 9th 2022 OCLC shows no record at all of this item, CCFR locates only one 19th ct. price list and two of Zuber's catalogues of the 1970s.

Reference: Brian Coleman, Zuber: Two Centuries of Panoramic Wallpaper, 2009.

€ 1.200,-

Art. 6135