Wallpaper run of Trellis pattern by Morris & Co – estimate $4000-6000 at Bonhams New York.
It comprises 100 unused rolls of wallpaper from the collection of AH Davenport & Co (1880-1973), the premier US interior design firm of the late 19th century and early 20th century.
Since the firm closed, the archive has been held privately by Tom and Arlene Ellis with elements acquired by museums including The Metropolitan Museum, The Dallas Museum, Fashion Institute of Technology and The Cooper Hewitt Museum.
“The Ellis collection contains some of the most elegant wallpapers ever produced, richly patterned, and beautifully coloured. An important window into the taste of the Gilded Age,” says Richard Nylander, who has written extensively on this collection in Wallpaper in New England (1986) and in the cover story of the August 1982 issue of Magazine Antiques.
English and French factories
The sale includes rolls by a number of English and French factories, such as this rare 9ft (2.74m) run of Trellis pattern by Morris & Co.
Created in 1862 with architect Philip Webb, this is the first wallpaper pattern that William Morris designed although it was the second one put into production.
The block printed design using nine colours on a white ground was made by Morris & Co from 1864-1916.
The estimate is $4000-6000.
