Uncut borders

The wallpapers and borders displayed here are similar or identical to those the Cubists used in their collages and pastiched in their paintings. Eight of the albums contain samples from the Isidore Leroy factory, which opened in the 1840s and was the first in France to print wallpaper by machine. Patterns were issued in various colorways; some came in several weights and finishes, including varnished and washable versions. Shops displayed lengths of wallpaper in their windows and kept albums with samples inside. Brochures sometimes included pasted-in snippets. Borders imitating moldings, edgings, and trimmings served to frame architectural features and mark divisions in a decorative scheme. Printed in rows, they were cut out by the paperhanger before application.